Turkey Prepares To Start Production Of Domestic Assault Ship Prototypes For Navy

Illustration of a Turkish warship. (Wikimedia Commons/Beterbocu)

JAKARTA - Turkey will start construction of a prototype ship within the scope of the Turkish-type assault ship project, the head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) said Monday.

"We will start the construction of a prototype ship within the scope of the Turkish-type assault ship," said SSB chief Ismail Demir, citing Daily Sabah January 31.

He was speaking at a meeting on defense industry goals by 2022 at the headquarters of Turkish defense contractor Havelsan in the capital Ankara.

Within the scope of the Turkish Type Assault Ship Project initiated by SSB, the “Turkish Type Assault Ship Project Term-1 Design Contract Agreement” was signed between SSB and the leading defense contractor STM on 31 August 2020.

The domestically produced assault ships are expected to be able to contribute to protecting the interests of the country in the surrounding seas, with effective maneuverability, high attack power and the national system they will carry.

While STM, which has also worked on other major projects such as the development of the submarine MİLGEM (Kapal Nasional), is the main contractor for the assault ship project, with the support of other leading defense companies, Aselsan Roketsan and Havelsan are all part of the project.

In the framework of the task of establishing and maintaining maritime control in the operational area of the Turkish Naval Command (DzKK); system requirements, concept selection, preliminary design and contract design activities will be carried out for the Turkish Type Assault Ship by the end of 2022.

These ships are planned to be sent to the navy to destroy and/or disable the enemy elements and ensure the survival of the naval elements.

The Turkish Type Assault Ship project is of great importance to DzKK, which actively uses warships, especially in the Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean Seas.

At Monday's meeting, Demir further said they would also begin the integration of the Bayraktar TB3 drone into the amphibious assault ship Anadolu.

"The new unmanned marine vehicle project will start," he added.

The unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) Bayraktar TB3, currently under development at the Baykar facility, is a variant of the Bayraktar TB2 and is planned to be the flagship.

To note, the flagship multipurpose amphibious assault ship is expected to enter service in 2022. Set to become the country's first and national aircraft carrier, TCG Anadolu will enhance the navy's operational capabilities.

Although the ship will carry helicopter gunships on its landing deck, Turkey does not operate aircraft that can take off from the ship. However, the TB3, with its folding wing design, can be deployed from short naval runways.