After Africa and the Middle East, military vehicles, the new popularity of the Turkish shipping industry, are now in Malaysia, the shining star of Asia.
The country’s Defense Minister, Mohammed Hassan, said the navy should receive Turkish military ships.
The area where the Turkish shipping industry had shone the brightest recently had been military vehicles. Delivering military naval vessels to a vast geography from Africa to the Middle East, the last stop of Turkish shipyards is Malaysia, one of the most extreme points of Asia.
As you remember, 18 Turkish companies from the Turkish defence industry participated in the Langkawi International Maritime and Aerospace Exhibition (LIMA 2023), one of Asia-Pacific’s most comprehensive defence exhibitions, in May this year. Many naval vehicles, especially the STM500 submarine, showcased at this exhibition, were introduced.
At the exhibition, it was discussed that Turkish ships, including ADA-class corvettes and I-class frigates, should also enter the Malaysian Navy. Those contacts began to bear fruit. In a presentation to the government, Malaysian Defense Minister Mohammed Hassan said they should procure military vessels from Turkey under the tender called LMS Batch 2.
Three Turkish companies are participating in the tender
Although Minister Hassan did not provide detailed information, it is known that ASFAT, Dearsan and STM Defense from Türkiye participated in the tender. It was not disclosed who won the tender and how much production was planned.
As is known, Dearsan, the company of former Fenerbahçe President Aziz Yıldırım, is participating in the tender with the C92 corvette. In the news we first announced in DÜNYA Newspaper, this corvette makes its most important production for the Nigerian Navy. STM is working on the MİLGEM corvette supply project to Ukraine, while ASFAT is building vessels for the PN MİLGEM project.
Four ADA-class corvettes, the first product of MİLGEM, were built for the Turkish Navy under the contractorship of STM. In 2018, the first vessels of the project, PNS Babur, PNS Badr and PNS Khaibar, were launched with the Pakistan (PN) Milgem project. Malaysian media emphasises that the Royal Navy will procure 3 LMS Batch two vessels this year. Five more vessels shall join these five vessels in the coming period.
Dearsan is growing fast in Africa
In 2021, we shared with you the news that Aziz Yıldırım’s company, Dearsan, had signed an important agreement in Africa. With the agreement signed between Vice Admiral AZ Gambo, Commander of the Nigerian Navy, and Aziz Yıldırım, Chairman of the Board of Directors of Dearsan, Dearsan undertook the Modernization of the historically significant NNS ARADU (F89) Frigate, the Flagship of the Nigerian Navy.
Subsequently, Dearsan succeeded in exporting two patrol vessels to the Nigerian Navy, and in recent months, the Turkish company turned to Tanzania, another country in Africa. Tanzanian Minister of Transportation Makame Mbrawa announced they signed three agreements with Dearsan. Planned to start in two years, the project shall include a ship maintenance area and employ 300 people. It is stated that the project will cost 129 million dollars.
Source: Dünya Newspaper / Kerim Ülker
