According to a Tweet published on January 23, 2021, Turkey has officially launched the first Istanbul-class F 515 frigate on January 23, 2021. The launching ceremony was attended by the President of Turkey Tayyip Erdoğan and the president of SSB (The Turkish Defense Association) Ismail Demir.
According to a Tweet published on January 23, 2021, Turkey has officially launched the first Istanbul-class F 515 frigate on January 23, 2021. The launching ceremony was attended by the President of Turkey Tayyip Erdoğan and the president of SSB (The Turkish Defense Association) Ismail Demir.
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The official ceremony for the launching of the first Istanbul-class frigate for the Turkish Navy. (Picture source SSB)
The Istanbul-class also called I-class frigate is a series of four frigates built for the Turkish Navy that were developed under the MILGEM Turkish national warship program. The official cutting steel ceremony first of the first Istanbul-class frigate was held January 19, 2017, at Istanbul Shipyard which is the main contractor for the construction of the ship. It is planned to deliver the first Istanbul-class ship to the Turkish navy in 2023.
The MILGEM is the most important projects of Turkish armed forces for the development and the construction of a new generation of multipurpose corvettes and frigates that can be deployed to conduct a wide range of missions, including reconnaissance, surveillance, early warning, anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air warfare, and amphibious operations.
The MILGEM project includes the construction of four Ada class anti-submarine warfare corvettes, one ELINT corvette, four Istanbul class multipurpose frigates, TF2000 class anti-air warfare destroyers for the Turkish Navy as well as four Jinnah-class frigates for the Pakistan Navy.
The Istanbul- class frigate is an enlarged variant of the Ada-class anti-submarine corvettes also developed under the MILGEM project. The ship features a slightly larger hull for improved endurance.
Citing the Daily Sabah website, the Istanbul-class frigate will be equipped with indigenous infrared search and tracking systems developed by the Turkish defense corporation ASELSAN. It will also be integrated with a Turkish-made electronic assault system, according to officials. The ship will also feature locally made guided missiles and anti-torpedo shields.
According to the Turkish naval industry, the Istanbul-class frigate has a length of 113.2 m, a beam of 14.40 m, a draft of 4.05m, and a displacement of 3,000 tones. The ship is powered by a combined diesel and gas (CODAG) propulsion system including two MTU 20V 4000 M93L diesel engines, one LM2500 gas turbine, and two shafts. She can reach a top speed of 29 knots (54 km/h) with a maximum cruising range of 6,570 nmi (12,170 km) at 14 kn (26 km/h). The ship has a crew of 125 people.
The Istanbul-class frigate will be armed with one 76 mm (3 inches) Oto Melara Super Rapid naval gun, two 25 mm automatic cannon (0.98 in) Aselsan STOP, one GOKDENIZ close-in weapon system CIWS), 16 Harpoon anti-ship missile or Atmaca anti-ship cruise missiles, 16 HISAR surface-to-air missiles and two 324 mm (13 inches) Double Torpedo launchers. The ship has a flight deck and one hangar able to accommodate one S-70B Seahawk ASW (Anti-Submarine Warfare) helicopter and one unmanned aerial vehicle.
