Turkey’s First National Frigate TCG ISTANBUL Begins Sea Trials
TCG ISTANBUL (F-515), the first ship of the MİLGEM İstif (İ) Class Frigate Project left the port for its first sea cruise experience last week after the flag hoisting ceremony held at the Istanbul Shipyard Command. Thus, the TCG ISTANBUL (F-515) Frigate officially began its sea trials. The vessel has been built by STM, under the leadership of the Turkish Defense Industry Agency (SSB).
“As STM, we are proud to be the designer and main contractor of our first national frigate after undertaking important tasks in our MİLGEM corvettes,” said STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz. “We exceeded our target of 75 percent locality rate in our TCG ISTANBUL Frigate, which was outfitted with maximum national systems in weapon and electronic systems and brought our ship to 80 percent locality rate. We have progressed to the sea trials phase of the ISTANBUL Frigate… which we will deliver in the 100th anniversary of our Republic.”
TCG Istanbul, Turkey’s first indigenous frigate, is also the first ship of the MİLGEM İstif (İ) class frigate project, which is a continuation of the MİLGEM ADA Class corvettes. Following the completion of the ‘ADA Class Corvette’ project, which constitutes the first phase of the MİLGEM program and includes the delivery of four corvettes for the Turkish Naval Forces, a contract was signed in 2019 between the Turkish Defense Industry Agency (SSB) and STM for the supply of the TCG ISTANBUL (F-515) frigate. The ship was launched on January 23, 2021, with a ceremony held at the Istanbul Shipyard Command. After completing the ship-rigging phase, the ship began port acceptance tests on June 22, 2022. Following the completion of sea trials, the ship will be delivered to the Naval Forces Command in the final quarter of 2023.
The sibling ships of the TCG STANBUL Frigate, TCG İzmir (F-516), TCG İçel (F-517), and TCG İzmit (F-518), are currently under construction at the Sefine, Anadolu, and Sedef Shipyards as part of the MİLGEM İstif (İ) class frigate project. The first sheet metal cutting ceremony for the MİLGEM project’s sixth, seventh, and eighth ships took place on April 10, 2023, at the Istanbul Shipyard Command, alongside the delivery ceremony for the TCG Anadolu LHD Ship to the Naval Forces Command. These shipyards will deliver these frigates to the Turkish Naval Forces in the first quarter of 2026.
According to STM, MİLGEM Class İ frigates, which differ structurally from ADA class corvettes, draw attention with their anti-submarine, surface, and air defense warfare capabilities, outpost operations, reconnaissance, surveillance, target detection, identification, recognition, and early warning capabilities. The frigates have a displacement of 3100 tons, a length of 113 meters, and a width of 14.4 meters, and their length has been extended by 10 meters due to equipment changes and additions made to the weapon systems compared to the ADA class. Powered by two MTU 20V 4000 M93L diesel engines and an LM2500 gas turbine, Class I Frigates will also have a longer endurance and longer range compared to ADA Class Corvettes. The I-Class Frigates will have a large flight deck at the stern to accommodate the 10t class SH-70 SeaHawk multi-purpose helicopter, as well as space for 123 personnel. Domestic solutions such as the close air defense system Gökdeniz, the three-dimensional search radar Cenk-S, the fire control radar Akrep, the target illumination radar, the torpedo tube, the National Vertical Launch System MIDLAS, and Hisar-D will also be included on the ship.