According to a tweet published by the Republic of Türkiye Directorate of Communications on May 23, 2022, the Turkish President Erdogan performed the first welding of the Reis-class submarine Selmanreis at Gölcük Shipyard Command.
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Future Reis-class submarine TCG Selmanreis (Picture source: AK Party)
The Reis-class submarines are a group of six license-built submarines based on the Type 214 submarine for the Turkish Navy.
The Type 214 class vessels are regarded as a first for the Turkish Navy due to their air-independent propulsion characteristics brought by their fuel cell technology. The vessels also can deploy heavyweight torpedoes and anti-ship missiles and lay mines against targets, both at sea and on the ground.
The submarines have a length of 68.35 meters (224.2 ft), an outer diameter of 6.3 meters (20.7 ft), a displacement of 1850 tons, and a capacity of 40 personnel.
Submarines will be able to perform long-term operations in confidentiality, high-speed advanced torpedoes, and guided missile that can be thrown to surface targets (including land).
The class will be powered by two diesel generation (MTU 16V 396SE 64L cells), two batteries (324 Type 30PS15B), and two 120 kW (160 hp) fuel cells Siemens.
Air-independent propulsion (AIP), or air-independent power, is any marine propulsion technology that allows a non-nuclear submarine to operate without access to atmospheric oxygen (by surfacing or using a snorkel). AIP can augment or replace the diesel-electric propulsion system of a non-nuclear vessel
