Turkey's first national frigate TCG İSTANBUL (F-515) and Logistics Support Ship TCG ÜTĞ, of which STM Defense Technologies Engineering and Trade Inc., Turkey's engineering power at sea, is the main contractor. ARİF EKMEKÇİ (A-575) was delivered to the Turkish Navy.
Continuing its work in line with Turkey's "fully independent defense industry" targets, STM continues to equip the Turkish Navy with national and modern warships in the field of naval projects. The new naval platforms that will strengthen the power of the Turkish Naval Forces in the Blue Homeland entered the inventory of the Turkish Naval Forces Command with the "Power to the Blue Homeland: New Naval Platforms Delivery Ceremony" held on January 19.
The ceremony held at the Sefine Shipyard in Yalova was attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, President of Defense Industries Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün, Turkish Naval Forces Commander Admiral Dr. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz, Sefine Shipyard Board Member Celal Koloğlu and many guests attended.
Güleryüz: TCG İSTANBUL is one of the top 5 most advanced frigates in the world
STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz stated that the TCG İSTANBUL frigate, delivered to the Turkish Navy, is among the 5 most advanced frigates in the world with its design and technology and the localization rate has reached 80 percent. Güleryüz continued his words as follows:
“In this form, TCG İSTANBUL is the warship with the highest domestic production rate in Turkey. Our national frigate; "It will be an important deterrent force for our country in the Blue Homeland with its national electronic warfare systems with high localization rate, new generation national war management system and the ability to launch air-guided projectiles."
New Guardian in the Blue Homeland: Logistics Support Ship ARİF EKMEKÇİ
Another project in which STM was the main contractor; Referring to the Logistics Support Ship, Güleryüz said:
“After the first ship of the project, TCG Captain Güngör Durmuş, our second ship is TCG UTGM. We are proud to deliver the ARİF EKMEKÇİ Logistics Support Ship (A-575). Our ship, named after Martyr SAT Commando First Lieutenant Arif Ekmekçi, will strengthen the supply and logistics capabilities of our Naval Forces; "It is ready for any task to shoulder the burden of the Blue Homeland, with the possibility of refueling at sea, carrying tons of liquid and solid cargo, and a navigation range of 9 nautical miles."
We carry out more than 9 ship projects in 10 different shipyards
Drawing attention to STM's military and naval activities, Güleryüz completed his speech with the following words:
“As STM, we are proud to have successfully contributed to the level our country has reached in military maritime with more than 9 military ship projects we have carried out in 10 different shipyards. As Turkey's engineering power at sea, we meet all the needs of both our Navy and the navies of friendly and sister countries, from aircraft carriers to modern submarines, as required by the age; “We will continue to meet our needs with visionary, modern and national opportunities and to successfully represent our country in the world.”
Turkey's first national frigate TCG İSTANBUL
A contract was signed between the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and STM on 2 April 515 for the construction of the TCG İSTANBUL (F-12) Frigate, the first ship of the MİLGEM I-class frigate project, which is the second phase continuation of the MİLGEM ADA CLASS corvettes.
TCG İSTANBUL (F-515) Frigate was launched on January 23, 2021. With the completion of the port acceptance tests following the equipment of the ship in the stone pool, the ISTANBUL Frigate went on its first cruise experience after the flag-raising ceremony on 20 June 2023. TCG İSTANBUL attended the 100-ship official parade held by the Turkish Navy in the Bosphorus on the occasion of the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey and the 250th anniversary events of the Naval Academy and greeted the citizens and sailors. TCG İSTANBUL was delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces Command with a ceremony held on January 19, 2024.
Features of TCG İSTANBUL
TCG İSTANBUL (F-515), which is the first Turkish frigate designed by Turkish engineers, has a different place from ADA class corvettes due to its structure. The difference between TCG İSTANBUL (F-515) and other I-class frigates from the Ada-class corvettes is that they have the ability to carry and launch air-guided projectiles.
Developed for submarine and surface warfare, air defense, outpost activities, reconnaissance, surveillance, target detection, identification, recognition and early warning missions, the national frigate is 113 meters long and 14,4 meters wide. TCG İSTANBUL, built at Istanbul Shipyard Command; It has advanced and national solutions such as ATMACA Cruise Missile developed by Roketsan, MİDLAS Vertical Launch Launcher System, Gökdeniz Close Air Defense System developed by ASELSAN, Cenk-S AESA Radar, and ADVENT Combat Management System developed by HAVELSAN under the leadership of the Naval Forces Command. Within the scope of the project, around 150 subcontractor companies have collaborated for more than 80 systems, while a total of 220 different companies have contributed.
8 Class I Ships Will Be Built
Work for MİLGEM 6-7-8th ships, which will be sisters to Turkey's first national frigate TCG İSTANBUL, started in 2023 in STM-TAİS Business Partnership. It is aimed that the national frigates (TCG İZMİR, TCG İÇEL and TCG İZMİT) will be built within 36 months and put into service with the Turkish Navy. At the Defense Industry Executive Board (SSİK) Meeting held on January 3, 2024, under the chairmanship of President Erdoğan, MİLGEM Class I Frigates 9-10-11-12. The decision to build the ships has been taken and the number of Class I Frigates to be built within the scope of the project has increased to 8.
Logistics Support Ship ARİF EKMEKÇİ
A contract was signed between SSB and STM on February 2, 9, for the delivery of 2021 Logistics Support Ship Projects by SSB to the Turkish Naval Forces Command. Within the framework of the project, STM was the main contractor responsible for program management, procurement, installation, ship equipment, integration, tests and ELD.
The first ship of the Logistics Support Ship Project, whose construction activities are continuing at ADA Shipyard, is TCG YZB. GÜNGÖR DURMUŞ (A-574) was delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces Command with a ceremony held on December 8, 2021. The second ship of the project is ÜTĞM. ARİF EKMEKÇİ (A-575) went on her first sailing experience in Mavi Vatan for the Ship Acceptance Tests, after the flag-raising ceremony was held on July 5, 2023. ÜTĞM. ARİF EKMEKÇİ (A-575) entered the inventory of the Turkish Naval Forces Command with the ceremony held on 19 January 2024.
The ship, named after Martyr SAT Commando Naval Senior Lieutenant Arif Ekmekçi, has a length of 106.51 meters and a width of 16.80 meters. The ship, which can supply fuel at sea with a stern floatation system, has a crew capacity of 82 people. The ship, which has a helicopter platform that allows a 15-ton general purpose helicopter to land and resupply, has a speed of 12+ nautical miles and a cruising range of 9500 nautical miles. It was equipped with 2 12,7 mm ASELSAN STAMP weapon systems. The ship has a crane with a lifting capacity of 18 tons; It has the capacity to carry 8 containers, 631 tons of drinking water, 336 tons of JP-5 helicopter fuel and 4.036 tons of F-76 fuel.