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President Recep Tayyip Erdogan presided over a major naval ceremony at Istanbul Shipyard Command on Saturday, commissioning three platforms into the Turkish Navy, delivering warships to Pakistan and Romania, and announcing that construction has begun on a 300-meter aircraft carrier.
"We have started the construction process of our aircraft carrier, which will be 300 meters long and will be the big brother of TCG Anadolu," Erdogan announced.
The ceremony also revealed that Türkiye's indigenous submarine program (MILDEN) will produce vessels named the Atilay class, with the first submarine to be called Atilay. The first submarine built in Türkiye for the Turkish Navy was TCG Atilay (D-351), commissioned in the 1930s.
The Turkish president also announced the commissioning of the TCG Hizirreis submarine, the new-type landing ship C-159 and the ULAQ armed unmanned surface vessel (USV).
"TCG Hizirreis submarine, which will be the national guardian of silent depths with its air-independent propulsion system and advanced sonar capabilities, is at the forefront. We are commissioning the Hizirreis submarine today," Erdogan stated.
"Another platform we are commissioning is our new-type landing ship C-159. This platform will serve in stormy waters both in military operations and humanitarian aid operations during peacetime," he added.
President Erdogan described the ULAQ armed USV as "a symbol of digital transformation and AI-based autonomous systems at sea" and noted it uses a marine engine with 90% domestic content developed by Turkish engineers.
The Pakistan Navy received PNS Khaibar, the second corvette under the Pakistan MILGEM program, which was signed in September 2018.
The 108.2-meter, 2,985-ton vessel required 160,000 man-days of labor, with 323,000 meters of cable, 20,000 meters of piping, and 1,500 pieces of equipment installed. The ship underwent 630 hours of testing, including live-fire exercises.
PNS Khaibar is equipped with the Havelsan ADVENT combat management system, six P-282 anti-ship missiles, and the Albatros NG (CAMM-ER) air defense missile system.
The first ship, PNS Babur, was delivered on May 24, 2024. PNS Bedir is scheduled for delivery by the end of June 2026, and PNS Tarik in the first quarter of 2027.
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Speaking at the ceremony, Turkish Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercument Tatlioglu revealed that the TF-2000 air defense destroyers will be named the Tepe class.
"As of today, 39 military ships are under construction simultaneously at our shipyards, and the construction of our national aircraft carrier and our Tepe-class destroyer, known as TF-2000, is continuing rapidly," Tatlioglu stated.
Tatlioglu later provided updates on the Reis-class submarine program:
Turkish Naval Forces Commander later highlighted the scale of Türkiye's naval construction:
Erdogan lastly announced that the offshore patrol vessel TCG Kochisar will join the fleet by the end of May.
"We will add our patrol ship Kochisar, which will serve our nation in peacetime and be our deterrent force in times of crisis, to our navy at the end of May," he noted.
The ceremony also included the steel cutting for TCG Seferihisar, the seventh vessel in the 10-ship Hisar class offshore patrol vessel program. Four ships are currently under construction, and construction has now begun on four more.
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