TCG ISTANBUL frigate, the inaugural vessel of the Frigate Project, TCG DERYA, the Maritime Supply and Combat Support Vessel, TCG LT. ARİF EKMEKÇİ, the Logistics Support Vessel, and MARLİN Unmanned Naval Vehicle included the inventory of the Turkish Naval Forces at a ceremony held in Yalova.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the ceremony organized at Yalova Sefine Shipyard, “Power to the Blue Homeland: Delivery Ceremony of New Naval Platforms” at the Sefine Shipyard in Yalova.
During his speech at the ceremony, President Erdoğan highlighted the numerous projects that have been implemented to safeguard the Blue Homeland. He proudly mentioned, “We have achieved a domestic production rate of up to 80 per cent in our projects. We specialise in more than just shipbuilding, and our craftsmanship goes beyond rough work. We have the capability to manufacture the sensors, payloads, weapons, and ammunition needed for all domestically and nationally built vessels.”
Yaşar Güler, Minister of National Defence, was present at the ceremony alongside General Metin Gürak, Chief of the General Staff, and Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces.
In his speech, Güler noted, ” The operational capability and effectiveness of our Naval Forces will further improve with these vessels. Similarly, the MARLIN Unmanned Naval Vehicle, like our unmanned aerial vehicles, which we intensively use in military operations, will make significant contributions to our glorious navy.”
TCG Istanbul Frigate
On April 12, 2019, the Department of Defence Industries (DDI) and STM, the Main Contractor, signed a contract for the building of the TCG Istanbul (F-515) Frigate, and the contract entered into force on September 27, 2019.
The 5th ship of the MİLGEM Project, the Istanbul (F-515) Frigate, was launched, and the First Welding Ceremony for the 3rd Ship of the Pakistan MİLGEM Corvette Project was held on January 23, 2021. The TCG Istanbul Frigate is expected to be delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces Command in September 2023.
Havelsan and Aselsan served as the main business partners in the project, which was built at Istanbul Naval Dockyard Command under the main contractorship of STM. The suppliers were mainly composed of local companies.
On January 23, 2023, the Department of Defence Industries announced that it had decided to carry out the Procurement Project for three İ Class Frigates with the partnership of Anadolu, Sedef, Sefine, TAİS Ortak Girişimi Ticari İşletmesi and STM Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret AŞ. Three İ-class frigates are planned to be delivered simultaneously at each of the Anadolu, Sedef, and Sefine shipyards in 36 months.
The İ Class Frigates possess a wide range of capabilities including submarine defence, surface and air defence warfare, advanced patrol activities, reconnaissance, surveillance, target detection, identification, recognition, and early warning capabilities.
The TCG Istanbul Frigate measures 113.2 metres in length, 14.4 metres in breadth, and 7.75 metres in depth, with a draft of 4.05 metres and a displacement of 3,000 tonnes. The ship was built with a significant amount of effort and resources. A total of 62,000 days of manpower were dedicated to its building, along with the processing of 110 tonnes of sheet metal, the laying of 5,500 metres of piping, and the installation of 1454 pieces of main equipment.
The TCG İstanbul is armed with a 76 mm Super Rapid Naval Gun, which was procured from Leonardo Company. The National Vertical Launcher System (NVLS) is positioned just behind the bow gun, featuring 16 cells. The first ground firing test with NVLS was successfully accomplished using the HİSAR-D RF Missile at the Aksaray Firing Test Range in December 2022. The 16-cell National Vertical Launcher System (NVLS), developed by ROKETSAN, has announced that it can be used with both HİSAR-D and ESSM (Evolved SeaSparrow Missile) B1 and B2 Missiles. The Naval Forces have outlined their plans for NVLS, which involves utilising it as a quad pack. This configuration allows for a total of 64 missiles, either 16×4 ESSM Block 2 missiles, 16 HİSAR missiles, or a combination of HİSAR and ESSM Block 2 missiles.
The TCG Istanbul will be armed with a bow cannon from Leonardo, while the other three ships will have a 76 mm Naval Cannon from MKE.
Unlike our ADA-class corvettes, a significant portion of the systems previously procured from abroad were developed in Turkey and integrated into the TCG Istanbul frigate based on changing operational requirements and advancing technology. The most important ones among these systems are the surface-to-air vertical firing systems (NVLS), which will have a longer range for the first time, the surface-to-air ATMACA guidance projectile, three-dimensional search radar, fire control radar, infrared search and counter-electronic attack systems, point defence weapon systems, and torpedo shell systems.
The TCG Derya, a Naval Supply and Combat Support Ship
The Naval Supply Combat Support Ship (NMSCSS), which is designed to rapidly supply fuel and water, including helicopter fuel (HIFR), to floating troops through supply at sea (RAS, FAS), is equipped to deploy in Peacekeeping Operations, Response to Disasters and Emergencies, and Humanitarian Aid, as well as naval supply for combat units and advanced military bases.
It will also support the maintenance/repair of manned and unmanned surface and underwater vehicles, helicopters, and ship-based unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) at a certain level.
The TCG Lt. Arif Ekmekçi Logistic Support Ship
The Logistic Support Ship Project was initiated to improve the supply and logistics capabilities of the Turkish Naval Forces. The ships are 106.51 metres in length and 16.80 metres in breadth, with a crew capacity of 82 people. The ships have a helicopter platform that allows a 15-tonne general-purpose helicopter to land and supply.
The ships have a speed of 12+ knots and a navigational range of 9500 nautical miles and are armed with two 12.7 mm ASELSAN STAMP weapon systems. The ships are equipped with an 18-tonne crane and have the capacity to carry 8 containers, 631 tonnes of potable water, 336 tonnes of JP-5 helicopter fuel, and 4,036 tonnes of F-76 fuel.
On February 9, 2021, SSB and STM signed a contract for the completion and delivery of the 2 Logistics Support Vessel Project, which was initiated by the Department of Defence Industries (DDI) but could not reach the delivery stage with the shipyard where the contract was signed, to the Turkish Naval Forces Command.
The main contractor in charge of programme management, procurement, assembly, outfitting, integration, tests, and ELD within the framework of the project was STM.
Marlin Siha
MARLIN, an unmanned naval vehicle built in cooperation with Sefine Shipyard-Aselsan and coordinated by the Department of Defence Industries, stands out as the most capable unmanned surface vehicle that Turkey has ever built in this field.
The platform, measuring approximately 15 metres in length, possesses significant capabilities in surface warfare, underwater warfare, electronic warfare, and asymmetric operations. MARLIN, which incorporates the capabilities that naval gunboats can have, may even offer a highly versatile naval warfare platform that surpasses traditional gunboats in terms of flexibility.
The electronic warfare system currently on MARLIN is truly ground-breaking. As such, MARLIN stands out as the world’s pioneering unmanned surface platform with cutting-edge electronic warfare systems.
The solid-fuel KUZGUN Cruise Missile was successfully launched from MARLIN on March 28, 2023, marking a significant milestone in guided ammunition technology.
During a panel discussion at SAHA EXPO in 2022, Mustafa L. Civelek, Strategic and Unmanned Systems Manager at SEFINE DENİZCİLİK stated: “Believe me, the unmanned test was very easy. The only challenges we faced were the unpredictable weather and the ever-changing ocean conditions. MARLIN also endured that. We embarked on a mission in place of our British counterpart who was unable to go on. Unmanned tests are solely focused on overcoming the challenges posed by nature. However, the challenge with manned tests lies in the involvement of individuals. Communication, unusual rules of working with each other.
