Türkiye wants 3 new Istanbul class frigates from MILGEM Project.

According to a tweet published by Ismail Demir on April 7, 2023, contracts have been signed for three new frigates under the Istanbul Class Frigates, which is a continuation of the MILGEM Project. The frigates will be built simultaneously in three separate private shipyards and delivered to the Turkish Navy within 36 months.
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Signature ceremony for three new Istanbul class frigates. (Picture source: SSB)

STM, the designer and main contractor of the first ship of Turkey's national frigate project, the Istanbul class, TCG ISTANBUL, has signed a partnership agreement with TAIS OG for the construction of three new ships that will be the sisterships of ISTANBUL. At the contract ceremony held in Ankara, signatures were signed for the construction of three new frigates under the Istanbul class frigates.

Within the scope of the MİLGEM Project, which is carried out by the Presidency of Defense Industries, contracts were signed for the construction of three new MILGEM Istanbul (I) Class Frigates.

The frigates, which will be built simultaneously in three private shipyards within 36 months, will be delivered to the Turkish Navy. The 6th, 7th, and 8th ships, which are the continuation of the MILGEM Project, will be equipped with national systems.

MILGEM

The MILGEM project is a national warship program managed by the Turkish Navy that aims to develop multipurpose corvettes, frigates, and destroyers for a range of missions.

One of the products of this project is the Istanbul-class frigates, which are an enlarged version of the Ada-class anti-submarine corvette. The Istanbul-class frigates have enhanced endurance and multi-role capabilities, including the MDAS Vertical Launching System (VLS) for firing HISAR and other missiles.

The Istanbul-class frigates will retain the guns, self-protection, and anti-submarine warfare systems of the Ada class, but with twice the number of anti-ship missiles and other systems for improved multi-role combat capabilities.

These frigates are expected to play an important role in determining the design characteristics and development process of the TF-2000-class frigates, which will be significantly larger and more capable warships.

The Istanbul class has a displacement of 3,000 tonnes, a length of 113.2 m (371 ft 5 in), a beam of 14.40 m (47 ft 3 in), and a draft of 4.05 m (13 ft 3 in). Its armament includes a variety of guns, missiles, and torpedoes, as well as a hangar and platform for an S-70B Seahawk ASW helicopter and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV).