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Romania Secures Hisar-Class Corvette from Türkiye to Bolster Black Sea NATO Shield.
Romania has signed a government-to-government agreement with Türkiye for the Hisar-class light corvette Akhisar, a near-new Turkish combat ship valued at €223 million.The acquisition is intended to strengthen Romania’s naval capabilities in the Black Sea and enhance regional security cooperation.
On December 3, 2025, Romania formally signed an intergovernmental contract with Türkiye for the acquisition of the Hisar-class light corvette Akhisar, in a deal valued at €223 million excluding VAT. The contract, signed at the Ministry of National Defence in Bucharest between the Romanian General Directorate for Armaments and ASFAT, marks the first export of a Turkish-built combat ship to a NATO and European Union member state and the first new major surface combatant to join the Romanian Naval Forces in decades. Aimed at closing a critical capability gap in the Black Sea, the corvette is expected to enhance maritime security, protect key offshore infrastructure and improve Romania’s ability to operate alongside NATO partners in an increasingly contested regional environment.
Romania has purchased the Turkish-built Hisar-class light corvette Akhisar in a €223 million fast-track deal to modernize its aging Black Sea fleet and strengthen NATO’s defenses in the region (Picture Source: ASFAT)
During the ceremony, Minister Radu Miruță underlined that the arrival of a new ship in service is a “concrete step” that strengthens Romania’s defence posture at the Black Sea and directly concerns the safety of the country and the conditions under which Romanian sailors conduct their missions. The government-to-government agreement comes at the end of a decision-making process in which the Supreme Council of National Defence (CSAT) approved, in March 2025, the multi-annual program to equip the Romanian Naval Forces with a new Hisar-class light corvette, enabling the MoND to initiate the necessary acquisition procedures. On 8 September, the joint defence committees of the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies unanimously issued a favourable opinion on the purchase, clearing the political way for the contract signature announced on 3 December. The MoND specifies that the €223 million figure without VAT covers not only the ship itself, but also crew training and a logistic support package.
In Romanian service, the Akhisar light corvette will primarily showcase a mix of Turkish and Western defence products integrated on a compact multi-mission platform. The baseline Hisar-class configuration includes an MKE 76 mm naval gun derived from the OTO Melara 76/62, the Aselsan Gökdeniz 35 mm close-in weapon system using NATO-standard 35×228 mm ammunition, as well as 12.7 mm remote-controlled weapon stations and additional machine guns for close-range defence and response to asymmetric threats. The ship’s combat system is centred on the Havelsan ADVENT CMS, connected to a modern sensor suite combining a 3D surveillance radar, fire-control radars, electro-optical directors, sonar and electronic support measures. Romania may later choose to integrate additional NATO-standard or further Turkish-made systems on this platform, but no detailed configuration has been officially disclosed.
Financially and industrially, the contract is notable for both sides. Romania will pay €223 million, without VAT, for the platform itself, crew training and a logistics support package, with the total program cost estimated at around €265 million once national integration work and additional systems are included. The ship is to be transferred directly from the Turkish Navy’s order of battle, which allows delivery to Constanța in roughly six months after signature, a tempo far faster than Romania’s stalled domestic corvette program. This speed, however, comes at the price of limited workshare for Romanian shipyards, a sensitive issue in a country seeking to rebuild its naval industry. For Türkiye, the deal is a strategic export success: ASFAT, the state-owned company coordinating 27 military factories and 10 shipyards, secures its first sale of a Turkish-built warship to an EU and NATO navy, reinforcing its position as a serious competitor in the European naval market.
The acquisition aligns with strategic objectives in response to the increasingly volatile security environment in the Black Sea, intensified by Russia’s aggression against Ukraine. Romania’s fleet includes several platforms dating to the late Cold War era, and major modernization efforts, such as new corvettes and frigate upgrades, have encountered substantial delays. By acquiring the Akhisar as a turnkey vessel under an intergovernmental agreement, Bucharest secures a near-term enhancement of maritime presence, escort and surveillance capabilities in support of NATO’s eastern flank, including protection of offshore gas fields and vital sea lines of communication. The Hisar-class design, optimized for intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR), patrol, anti-surface operations, and limited anti-air roles, stands as a durable, high-availability asset capable of sustained operations in the northern and western Black Sea, delivering early warning and strengthening allied maritime situational awareness.
The transaction carries notable geopolitical resonance within NATO and the broader Euro-Atlantic industrial landscape. For Romania, selecting a Turkish-built corvette reflects a pragmatic emphasis on rapid capability delivery and interoperability, even when this means sourcing beyond traditional Western European shipyards. For Türkiye, exporting the Akhisar to a fellow NATO and EU member signals the maturity of its defence industry and its ability to supply complex surface combatants that meet Alliance standards. The deal broadens the Bucharest–Ankara partnership, complements cooperation in drones and land systems, and illustrates how defence industrial ties within NATO can evolve beyond classic supplier-customer relationships to foster new regional security linkages in the Black Sea.
With the signature of the Akhisar contract, Romania moves a step closer to fielding a coherent naval force structure that will eventually include locally built patrol vessels, European-program corvettes, upgraded frigates, submarines and a growing family of unmanned systems. The rapid arrival of this Hisar-class corvette, acquired under a program formally approved by CSAT and Parliament in 2025, will be an early test of Bucharest’s ability to translate political decisions and parliamentary approvals into concrete maritime capabilities, while offering Türkiye a high-visibility reference for future naval exports to allied nations. If timelines are respected and integration of Romanian-specific systems proceeds as planned, the Akhisar could soon become a symbol of both countries’ shared interest in a more robust, interconnected NATO posture in the Black Sea.
Written by Teoman S. Nicanci – Defense Analyst, Army Recognition Group
Teoman S. Nicanci holds degrees in Political Science, Comparative and International Politics, and International Relations and Diplomacy from leading Belgian universities, with research focused on Russian strategic behavior, defense technology, and modern warfare. He is a defense analyst at Army Recognition, specializing in the global defense industry, military armament, and emerging defense technologies.