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Turkish Naval Forces (DZKK)

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I mean with Gegin LACM on Board, strong AAW Capabillities and Levent Class LHD they can Project Power in nearly the whole mediterran Region or Horn of Africa !

Strong Leadership, decideness and non politiced mililtary, Police and bureacracy than we can and will do !
 
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@isoo you are the expert engineer, but please write moderate and not attacking Thx.

I quoted a serious Turkish expert who speaks from delays and you know the expert for sure

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SEARCH RESULTS FOR: TF-2000
The Battle For The TF-2000 Project Has Started

F-105 SPS Cristóbal Colón

Last week the marketing department of the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia send the following press release to a small group of Turkish defense journalists, about the latest Spanish F-100 class frigate F-105 Cristóbal Colón.

NAVANTIA PREPARES SPANISH NAVY’S FIFTH FRIGATE FOR SEA TRIALS

On 9th. January, the F-100 class frigate “Cristóbal Colón”, under construction in Navantia for the Spanish Navy, left the shipyard dry dock after a period of dry docking for hull and platform readiness for sea trials, that will take place in March 2012.

During this month, Navantia will proceed to the completion of the Combat System integration functional trials, in order to have the sea trials in May. The frigate is now in the final phase of construction, and after the sea trials it is expected to be commissioned next July.

The fifth frigate incorporates new solutions and technology that will fullfill the most demanding challenges for present and future threats:

Multipurpose Vessel excellent performance in all types of sea states Multipurpose ship
Medium-size ocean escort vessel.
Optimised for operating as flagship in conflict scenarios with capability to be part of an allied fleet and support expeditionary forces.
Capability to flexibly operate in littoral waters or high seas conditioned to conflict challenges.
High air warfare capability.

It also incorporates important improvements in systems and equipment:
Lockheed Martin Aegis System linked to Radar SPY-1D (V).
Integration of new Spanish sensors and weapons into the Aegis System by means of a new version of CDS developed by Navantia- FABA Systems.
New IPMS developed by Navantia – FABA Systems.
Updated system of the Navigation Data Distribution Network.
Navantia/Caterpillar Bravo 16V propulsion engines.
RAS sliding padeyes.
Retractable bow thruster for ship manoeuvring and emergency.

Main features:
– Waterline Length ……………………..133.20 m
– Full Load Displacement ………………6,041 t
– Full Load Draught ………………………5.00 m
– Maximum speed …………………………28.5 knots
– Cruising speed ………………………..18 knots
– Endurance at Cruising Speed ………….4,500 miles
– Crew ………………………………. 234 persons

Significant shipbuilding data:
– Number of compartments: 573
– Tons of Hull Steel: 2.450 t.
– Metres of cable: 315.000 m.
– Metres of piping : 37.000 m.

Just Two days after Navantia send the press release the following news of UK’s Financial times about the BAE, found its way into one of the Turkey influential newspapers Hürriyet. The original FT story is behind a paywall, therefore I am putting here a slightly shortened version of it.

BAE looks abroad to save UK shipyards

By Carola Hoyos, Defence Correspondent

BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence contractor, is in talks with Brazil and Turkey, to secure orders for the company’s most advanced warship in the hopes it could save its UK shipyards from closure.

The company is reviewing its business in light of cuts in UK defence spending, including considering whether to close one of its three shipyards in Glasgow and Portsmouth.

In contrast to the UK, Brazil and Turkey are expanding their navies, with BAE earlier this month having sold Brazil three ocean patrol boats for £133m – the biggest naval deal with the country so far. Now BAE hopes to sell them the Type-26 Global Combat Ship, its newest warship, which will support anti-submarine capabilities and have the potential to add air defence capabilities, but is still in the design stage.

Many of the world’s emerging economies, including Brazil and Turkey, want to build as much of their fleet as possible at home.

But experts say the T-26 is so technically complicated that the first few examples may need to be built in the UK with Turkish and Brazilian engineers learning the production process before they take the knowledge home to build subsequent ships there. Such an arrangement would extend the life of BAE’s shipyards.

BAE said it was actively looking to work with Brazil and Turkey on its naval expansion plans. “This includes exploring the potential for Turkey to bring its maritime expertise to the Global Combat Ship programme to jointly develop ships for Turkey.”



BAE’s says by reviewing its shipbuilding business it is keeping its part of the deal. Filling the gaps left by order delays and cuts has proved far from easy and BAE has already come under fire from unions and politicians for cutting jobs in its jet fighter business.

The future – at least in the medium term – lies with new orders from countries that may want to do the work themselves, but still need the UK’s infrastructure and experienced engineers to help them learn how to do it. To secure the shipyards in the long term, BAE will have to keep on the edge of technical advancement and hope that its biggest customers’ budgets and military ambitions recover.

Shopping for ships: Where BAE sees opportunities for its Type-26 Global Combat Ship

Turkey

  • The current national ship-building programme is called Milgem, which is for the construction of corvettes – small, lightly armed warships – already under way in Turkey by Turkish industry
  • Turkey has ambitions to strengthen further its naval fleet and BAE is exploring opportunities for partnerships in the maritime sector, and that could include the Global Combat Ship, which is still in the design stage
Brazil

  • The national naval equipment programme Prosuper includes a requirement for five ocean patrol vessels, five frigates and one logistics support vessel
  • BAE claims that the recent sale of three OPVs to Brazil, plus the manufacturing licence, positions the company well for future contracts.
I do not believe in coincidences much. And personally I do not think there is room for coincidences in the highly competitive marketing of defense industries. So why did two of the biggest shipbuilders of Europa reminded themselves to the Turkish public?

It is obvious that The Battle For The TF-2000 Project has started and the interested parties are drawing their lines.

TF-2000 is the next big deal for the Turkish Navy. And unlike the current on going constructions projects of the Turkish Navy, there is a huge income potential for the foreign defense companies. TF-2000 will be an anti-air warfare frigate that will survival in the presence of aerial threats and will provide also support functions such as command control and communication, reconnaissance, early warning, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare. Technicaly speaking TF-2000 will be larger and more complex than the Milgem and any other frigate in the inventory of the Turkish Navy.

While the mayor foreign input on Milgem was limited to weapon systems, radar and main machinery. But as the TF-2000 ships are going to have more complex software, sensors and weapon systems there is more room for foreign companies to push their solutions.

There are two full breed AAW solutions avaliable for Turkish Navy:

1) AEGIS sensor and command and control software suite + SM-2/3 Standart SAM missile family

2) S 1850M + EMPAR / SAMPSON sensor and command and control software suite + Aster 15/30 SAM missile family

A third option is a mix of the above mentioned systems: SMART-L + APAR sensor and command and control software suite + SM-2/3 Standart SAM missile family

Spain and Norway have chosen the first solution. Italy, France and UK opted for the second solution. The Netherlands Denmark and Germany have chosen the third way.

I regards the above statements from Navantia and BAE Systems as the opening shots of The Battle For The TF-2000 Project. We all will see where the events will take us from here.



For further reading click here.

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22 Jan 20125 Replies
The First Step For The TF-2000 AAW Frigate

During the latest meeting of the Turkish Defence Industry Executive Committee on 5th January 2012, Aselsan was chosen to develop a Multi-functional Phased Array Radar. This radar will be the main sensor of the TF-2000 air defense warfare frigates Turkish Navy wants to acquire in the next decade.

The Turkish Defence Industry Executive Committee assigned the Undersecretariat For Defense Industries to start, contract negotiations with Aselsan for the first phase of the development of a multi-functional phased array radar.

This is a small but very important step for the TF-2000 AAW frigate project as the design of the ship and its weapons will be directly shaped by the outcome of the Aselsan’s success of developing the MFPA radar or its failure to do so.

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9 Jan 2012Leave a reply
Dissecting Jpost Op-ed “Turkey vulnerable to rising Russian power in the Black Sea”


A ESSM missile being fired from a Mk-41 launcher on board of a Turkish frigate. But Mr. Tanchum tells us that these missiles will get into Turkish inventory in 2016. May be these are not the ESSM missiles Mr. Tanchum is looking for.

Yesterday, The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed by Micha’el Tanchum, which was first published in theTurkey Analyst. This this op-ed Mr. Tanchum explains that:

With the annexation of Crimea, Turkey faces a stronger and bolder Russian naval power in the Black Sea. A resurgent Russia may be tempted to exploit its temporary naval dominance to alter current Black Sea energy exploitation and transportation arrangements more in its favor and to the detriment of Turkey and its partners in the Caucasus.

While there a some aspects in this op-ed where I whole hearty agree there also some obvious and large material mistakes that raises questions about the credibility of the writer and his reason the write such a text.

Let’s start:

After gaining experience from the building of the slightly larger but more lethal TF 100 anti-air warfare frigates, Turkey then intends to build a series of TF 2000 frigates. Double the size of the TF 100, the TF 2000 anti-air warfare frigate will significantly advance the Turkish fleet’s transformation into a blue-water navy.

This is not correct. TF-2000 air defense ship project will supersede TF-100 project. TF-100 project is scheduled to start around 2020 to replace the MEKO 200 Track I frigates. On the other hand TF-2000 will be a major ship program and will form the mainstay of Turkish Navy with long range air defense sensors and weapons. TF-2000 is in early design phase and TF-100 does not exists even on blue-paper. Therefore it is not possible to say that one class of ships will be the double of the other as there is no data to compare at all. But I agree that TF-2000 will advance Turkish Navy into a blue-water navy.

The TF 100 frigates will be the first Turkish vessels to carry the American-manufactured RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) system capable of countering the current generation of supersonic anti-ship missiles.

It is absolutely and utterly false that TF-100 frigates are going to be the first ESSM capable ships in Turkish Navy. As you can see from the photo above Turkish Navy has today ESSM capable ships in operation. As the regular readers of this blog and people who really follow the developments in Turkish Navy know, Turkish Navy has installed Mk-41 vertical launcher systems in 4 of its8 Gabya (ex Perry) class frigates. And the main 2D search radars of these 4 ships with Mk-41 are being replaced by 3D radars. The main reason for the installation of the Mk-41 is to use the ESSM missile which is incompatible with the Mk-13 launcher on these ships.In addition to 4 Gabya class frigates 2 MEKO 200 Track IIB class frigates have Mk-41 launchers. This 2 ships are also capable to use ESSM missiles. And this capability will be retrofitted to the 2 MEKO 200 Track IIA frigates when their Mk-29 launcher will be replaced by Mk-41 VLS.

Turkey’s strategic vulnerability was not anticipated because of the view in Turkish policy circles that Turkey enjoys a relative parity with Russia in the Black Sea. However, the approximate parity exists only when Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is matched against all the major assets of the Turkish navy. Prior to the Crimean conflict, Russia’s Black Sea fleet consisted of 24 major surface combatants and one diesel submarine while Turkey’s major naval assets consist of approximately 24 surface combatants and 14 submarines. The parity is illusory as it is unlikely that Turkey would be able to deploy all or most of its naval assets in a Black Sea conflict.

I have always found making a comparison between Turkish and Russian Naval Forces very difficult as Russia has 3 other Fleets and it is not clear whether Turkey can mobilise all its major naval units to the Black Sea.
But I have difficulty to calculating Mr. Tanchum’s math on units numbers. The Turkish side is simple: 8 Gabya frigates + 8 MEKO 200 frigates + 6 Burak corvettes + 2 Ada corvettes and came up to 24 major surface units. On Russian side the math is not so simple. I have tired to remake Mr. Tanchum’s calculation based on Jane’s Fighting Ship reference book: 1 Slava cruiser + 1 Kara cruiser + 1 Kashin destroyer + 2 Krivak frigate + 6 Grisha frigate + 2 Sivuch corvettes + 5 Tarantul corvettes + 2 Nanuchka corvette makes 20 major surface units.
I have no idea where the other 4 units mentions in the op-ed were added to the Russian side. On the other hand if one is adding Tarantul and Nanuchka class ships to a comparison on Russian side then one has to add Yıldız and Karayel class fast attack craft on Turkish side. As in terms of displacement, on board weapons and sensors there is not much difference between Tarantul and Nanuchka class corvettes and Yıldız and Karayel class fast attack craft. Therefore I am thinking that Mr. Tanchum’s numbers are either biased or he has chosen his sample units poorly, which makes the above quoted comparison dubious.

With the annexation of Crimea, Turkey faces a stronger and bolder Russian naval power in the Black Sea. Russia now possesses the Ukrainian navy’s submarine and several, if not most, of Ukraine’s 11 major surface combatants. Even without the Ukraine’s naval assets, Russia’s own new additions to its Black Sea Fleet will enable Moscow to dominate the region. Russia recently put to sea the first of its six Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates. All six frigates are designated for service in the Black Sea Fleet.

It is true that the annexed Ukrainian naval assets increased the roster of the Russian Black Sea Unit. But this is only on paper. In reality most of the Ukrainian units taken by Russians are unfit for service and pose no thread to anyone. There are some reports that Russia has started to return some of the Ukrainian naval units back to Ukraine as they are not fit for service in Russian Navy. The Ukrainian submarine Zaporizhzhya sized by Russian forces was declared unfit for service but is still in Russian hands. Thus until newly build naval units start to arrive in the Black Sea the enlargement of Russian Black Sea units through the influx of Ukrainian naval units is not realistic thread.

Russia’s own new additions to its Black Sea Fleet will enable Moscow to dominate the region. Russia recently put to sea the first of its six Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates. All six frigates are designated for service in the Black Sea Fleet.

It’s true that Russia wants to improve its Black Sea Fleet with new frigates and submarines. But it is wrong to assume that these ships are going to be an addition the current warships. On the contrary these new constructed warships will replace existing old warships which reached the end of their usefulness. Therefore these new warships will not increase the number of Russian warships in the Black Sea 1:1.

Within the same 2016 timeframe, Russia will also add six newly improved Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines to its Black Sea Fleet ahead of Turkey’s deployment of an equivalent number of Ada-class anti-submarine corvettes. These two Russian procurement programs alone will quickly tilt the balance of naval forces in Russia’s favor, giving Russia a significant strategic advantage for a window of four to eight years depending on the pace of Turkey’s resumed production schedule

The above quoted paragraph shows that making naval analysis is not Mr. Tanchum’s strong suit. He is fundamentally wrong in his assumption that the main Turkish adversary of the Russian Kilo class submarines will be the Ada class corvettes. One does not fight airplanes with SAM missiles. One does not fight enemy tanks with ATGMs. The main weapons Turkey will use against the Kilo class submarines that will start to enter into service in (at least) 3 years time will be the submarines Turkey possess. And with 14 submarines in service Turkey has the strongest diesel-electric submarine force in NATO. These submarines are a huge force multiplier and one of our countries most important silent and deadly weapons. Six of the 14 submarines in Turkish inventory are nearing their useful life and they will be replaced by AIP Type 214 submarines. Even if Russian Black Sea Fleet enjoys an advantage in numbers for a time the air independent submarines will have the upper hand against the Russian submarines as they will not be AIP equipped.

It’s noteworthy that the new submarine construction programme of Turkey was never mentioned in this text.

Until Ankara can rectify the gap in naval capabilities created by MILGEM’s delays, Turkey will not be able to defend its national interests adequately as Russia attempts to reestablish its sphere of influence in the greater Black Sea region

During the Cold War the Black Sea was divided between NATO nation Turkey and 3 Warsaw Pact nations Bulgaria, Romania and USSR. How we have 3 NATO nations Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Plus Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. With the annexation of Crime by Russia the status quo in the Black Sea which was created at the end of the Cold War has changed. But this change is not unmanageable for Ankara as long as we have a long term political goal and will toreach it.

It is beyond any doubt that the cancellation of Milgem construction tender given to RMK Marine shipyard has created a havoc among the Turkish naval armament projects. But believing this delay will hamper Turkey’s ability to defends its national interest is wish full thinking.



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20 Apr 20141 Reply
BAE Lost The Turkish Bid, Before The Acquisition Process Started

The Turkish daily, Hürriyet Daily News, published an article by Mr. Özgür Ekşi, reporting that the Turkish Defense Ministry sent a letter informing their British counterparts, last month saying that Turkey was “no longer interested” in BAE Systems’ offer. Thus the hopes of BAE to take part in the next big Turkish naval acquisition project TF-2000 are terminated.

TF-2000 air defence warship, is one of the important naval future naval projects for Turkish Navy and for Turkish naval shipbuilding industry. Turkish Navy uses the Gabya class frigates for area air defence missions as they have the SM-1 anti-air missile. But both the missiles and the ships are getting past their prime ages, though Turkish Navy invests heavily in modernising the Gabya class ships with MK-41 VLS, ESSM missiles, Smart s 3D radar and with modern CIC and combat management software.

According to the long termed defence acquisition plans of Turkish Navy, it is envisaged that around year 2020, Turkey will need dedicated air defence warships that will defeat the modern aerial threats and provide cover for friendly ships and conduct support functions such as command and control, reconnaissance, early warning, electronic warfare.

The British defence giant BAE Systems, started in marketing their Type-26/GCS platform as a candidate for the TF-2000 programme. The British Goverment backed up BAE by designated Turkey as a strategic partner. In 2010, Prime Ministers Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and David Cameron signed a new Turkey/United Kingdom Strategic Partnership in Ankara. During his visit to UK, the President Abdullah Gül even visited HMS Dauntless.

So BAE was considered one of the main players in TF-2000 project along with Navantia as shipyard and Lockheed Martin as sensor and combat management system supplier. Till today.

U.S. defense industry giant Lockheed Martin has been left as the only bidder in the $3 billion project for the joint manufacture of six frigates for the Turkish navy after Ankara rejected the remaining contender BAE Systems’ proposal.

The project, however, may still not be awarded to Lockheed Martin if an agreement cannot be reached on the technical aspects of missile integration. Such an eventuality would cause the project to be shelved and then reshaped.

The long-delayed project envisions the TF-2000 frigate as a regional anti-air warfare vessel that would respond to aerial threats and also provide support functions such as command control, communication, reconnaissance and early warning. It would be bigger, heavier and more efficient in terms of war capacity than the vessels the navy has today.

The Defense Ministry last month sent a letter informing their British counterparts that Turkey was “no longer interested” in BAE Systems’ offer, an official familiar with the tender told the Hürriyet Daily News.

BAE is currently working on a new type of frigate, Type 26, which is internationally known as the Global Combat Ship (GCS). “BAE has already started the project. It was late to join. Our needs would have increased the cost. Or we would have had to review our requirements in accordance with the British Navy, but our requirements are different. BAE had also asked for a ‘license fee.’ The partnership offer would have become a model in which Turkey was financing BAE’s project,” the source told the Daily News.

But I think it is also to early for LM to pop-up champagne and to start partying.

Turkey’s defense procurement agency, the Undersecretary of Defense Industries (SSM), has come close to formally selecting Lockheed Martin, but it needs to hear the Turkish Navy’s decision on the choice of missile systems, which is the most critical part of the project. The ship will be designed according to the missile systems, because of their enormous weight.

Selecting the Lockheed SM2 missile system would simplify everything, as it is not heavy. The SM3 system would mean more negotiations on many aspects. It has a wider range, which means that the system would overlap with some of the Air Forces’ air defense duty. Missile integration is another subject to be solved.

Lockheed uses AN/SPY1 radar, while Turkish company Aselsan has started working on a smaller system called Multifunctional Phased Array Radar project (ÇAFRAD). Lockheed Martin has a Ship Integrated War Administration System called Aegis, which includes the AN/SPY1 radar, but Turkish Havelsan has already manufactured a smaller version called Genesis. Turkey wants ÇAFRAD to be inserted into AN/SPY1, Genesis to replace Aegis, and this combination to be integrated with the SM3 system.

If the two sides fail to resolve the missile integration question, then a second option will be considered. Turkey has successfully manufactured a corvette under the so-called Milgem project.

Milgem would be re-designed to manufacture a light frigate for air defense warfare and would be named TF100. “We have to develop something based on Milgem or we will waste all our know-how,” an industry source said.

I must add the following point for clarity: The formal acquisition process for TF-2000 has not started yet. According to the web site of Undersecretary of Defense Industries ” The feasibility studies for the TF-2000 project are completed. The model of the project will be created after the examination of feasibility studies”. The official start of the TF-2000 project is at least a couple of years even may be one decade away, dependimg on the avaliable budget.

Turkey said “Thanks, but no thanks” to BAE becuase of obvious and in my personal view from right reasons. But creating a new ship from scratch with a mixture of divers and sophisticated US and Turkish sensors, management software and weapons is a daunting task for every project manager.

For further reading:
The Battle For The TF-2000 Project Has Started
BAE Systems, Global Combat Ship And Turkey (Part 1)
My Impressions From 4.Naval Systems Seminar
IDEF’11 Update Part 2: Companies
IDEF’11 Update Part 1: Ongoing Naval Projects
UK – Turkey: Naval Industry Inward Mission (Part 2)

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21 May 2012Leave a reply
TCG Heybeliada Commissioned. A New Era For Turkish Navy


F-511 TCG Heybeliada

Yesterday was the 473. Anniversary of the Battle of Preveza. This day is also celebrated as the Turkish Navy Day. This years highlight was not the launching of thesecond Milgem class corvette F-512 TCG Büyükada but the commissioning of the first ship F-511 TCGHeybeliada.

The MILGEM class corvettes have a 99m mono hull with many stealth features incorporated into the design of the ship. The planned displacement was around 2,000 tons but apparently in grow to 2,300 tons. The armament is one 76mm Oto/Melara gun, 8 RGM-84 Harpoon missiles and 2 Mk-32 twin torpedo launchers. For self defense the ship is armed with a 21 cell RIM-116 RAM, 2 STAMP remote controlled stabilized weapon stations and Ultra SeaSentor torpedo counter measure system.

But I just I don’t want to talk about the specifications of these ships but I would like to stress what the MILGEM project means for Turkish Navy and how it will shape the future.


The combat information center of TCG Heybeliada. Note the map on the big blue screen at right! Photo: from NTVMSNBC

For Turkey the MİLGEM is the most important naval procurement project, going on. MILGEM is an acronym of the Turkish word Milli Gemi (National Ship). This high priority project is pivotal as it will form the foundation for experience and know-how for the design, production and integration of a complex warship through local means. The programme is also critical in defining the future of the customer – producer relationship between the Turkish Navy (as end-user and the builder of the first two ships), the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (as procurement agency) and private shipyards (as suppliers). The successful conclusion of this project will mark a new era for naval ship building in Turkey and will shape the Turkish naval ship building industry and the big future projects like TF-2000 air defence frigate.

The history of MILGEM goes back to the late 1990s. In 1996 Turkish Navy declared that it wanted to procure eight corvettes under the project MILGEM. As the name shows a maximum of Turkish contribution was desired from the beginning. When the project first started, a German shipyard immediately offered their corvettes design which was then still largely on drawing board. This move was logical as they did not wanted to lose a lucrative market for them. After delays due to severe economic crises, MILGEM was brought into life by Defense Industry Executive Committee (DIEC) in February 2000. Initial acquisition numbers were eight platforms plus four optional.

Despite the fact that twelve shipyards acquired the Request for Proposal, only two submitted proposals, both of which were found to be invalid due to the deficiency in the bid bonds.

Thus it seemed for a couple of years as if the MILGEM project was put on ice. In 2004 in an unprecedented move a dedicated design office was created for MILGEM by Turkish Navy. MILGEM Project Office (MPO) which is located at Istanbul Naval Shipyard was tasked with all design and construction activities regarding the ship.

After the MPO started to design the ship, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, the main defense procurement agency in Turkey, started in cooperation with Turkish Navy, the bidding process for various sub systems of the ship. In parallel, a series of workshops were organized in order to arouse the interest of the commercial ship building, machinery and supporting industries. This was necessary in order to obtain a high degree of local contribution.


The bridge of TCG Heybeliada. Photo: from NTVMSNBC



Thus MILGEM grew above being just a simple ship building program, as some of the important sub systems, equipment and sensors are being produced for the first time for MILGEM. For example the hull mounted sonar to be used in MILGEM class warships was developed by TUBITAK. It is worth to note that the sonar installed in TCG Heybeliada is the first ever sonar designed and constructed in Turkey. Similarly, the fire control radar for the main gun developed by Aselsan, is the first fire control radar ever designed and produced in Turkey. Many sub systems and sensors developed from MILGEM will be used in the future ship building projects of the Turkish Navy for sure.

With this project many small or medium sized Turkish companies specialized in their own fields such as water treatment or marine subsystems production started to do business with Turkish Armed Forces. For these companies doing business with the armed forces was a steep learning process. Many companies found the military standards and the test to prove that the products are up the these standards very high. The preparation of the necessary usage and maintenance documents was also a challenge especially for the smaller companies as it required a dedicated staff. In my eyes the success of the MILGEM project is to create the synergy and the excitement for all participants and giving the support for overcoming the difficulties in a harmonious way.

The success or the failure of the MILGEM programme, will directly influence the procurement model for the all planned major combat ship projects such as TF-2000. Turkish Navy has a requirement for a dedicated anti air warfare frigate to create a wide reaching air defense umbrella for its task forces, if necessary. Turkish Navy is defining her requirements and Undersecretariat for Defense Industries is defining its acquisition model. TF-2000 programme will start probably when MILGEM production is handed over from Istanbul Naval Shipyard to private shipyards. The current plans forecast 4 frigates to be commissioned in 2018-2020 time frame.

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28 Sep 20113 Replies
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Until Ankara can rectify the gap in naval capabilities created by MILGEM’s delays, Turkey will not be able to defend its national interests adequately as Russia attempts to reestablish its sphere of influence in the greater Black Sea region


The long-delayed project envisions the TF-2000 frigate as a regional anti-air warfare vessel that would respond to aerial threats and also provide support functions such as command control, communication, reconnaissance and early warning. It would be bigger, heavier and more efficient in terms of war capacity than the vessels the navy has today.
 
.
@isoo you are the expert engineer, but please write moderate and not attacking Thx.

I quoted a serious Turkish expert who speaks from delays and you know the expert for sure

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SEARCH RESULTS FOR: TF-2000
The Battle For The TF-2000 Project Has Started

F-105 SPS Cristóbal Colón

Last week the marketing department of the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia send the following press release to a small group of Turkish defense journalists, about the latest Spanish F-100 class frigate F-105 Cristóbal Colón.

NAVANTIA PREPARES SPANISH NAVY’S FIFTH FRIGATE FOR SEA TRIALS

On 9th. January, the F-100 class frigate “Cristóbal Colón”, under construction in Navantia for the Spanish Navy, left the shipyard dry dock after a period of dry docking for hull and platform readiness for sea trials, that will take place in March 2012.

During this month, Navantia will proceed to the completion of the Combat System integration functional trials, in order to have the sea trials in May. The frigate is now in the final phase of construction, and after the sea trials it is expected to be commissioned next July.

The fifth frigate incorporates new solutions and technology that will fullfill the most demanding challenges for present and future threats:

Multipurpose Vessel excellent performance in all types of sea states Multipurpose ship
Medium-size ocean escort vessel.
Optimised for operating as flagship in conflict scenarios with capability to be part of an allied fleet and support expeditionary forces.
Capability to flexibly operate in littoral waters or high seas conditioned to conflict challenges.
High air warfare capability.

It also incorporates important improvements in systems and equipment:
Lockheed Martin Aegis System linked to Radar SPY-1D (V).
Integration of new Spanish sensors and weapons into the Aegis System by means of a new version of CDS developed by Navantia- FABA Systems.
New IPMS developed by Navantia – FABA Systems.
Updated system of the Navigation Data Distribution Network.
Navantia/Caterpillar Bravo 16V propulsion engines.
RAS sliding padeyes.
Retractable bow thruster for ship manoeuvring and emergency.

Main features:
– Waterline Length ……………………..133.20 m
– Full Load Displacement ………………6,041 t
– Full Load Draught ………………………5.00 m
– Maximum speed …………………………28.5 knots
– Cruising speed ………………………..18 knots
– Endurance at Cruising Speed ………….4,500 miles
– Crew ………………………………. 234 persons

Significant shipbuilding data:
– Number of compartments: 573
– Tons of Hull Steel: 2.450 t.
– Metres of cable: 315.000 m.
– Metres of piping : 37.000 m.

Just Two days after Navantia send the press release the following news of UK’s Financial times about the BAE, found its way into one of the Turkey influential newspapers Hürriyet. The original FT story is behind a paywall, therefore I am putting here a slightly shortened version of it.

BAE looks abroad to save UK shipyards

By Carola Hoyos, Defence Correspondent

BAE Systems, Europe’s largest defence contractor, is in talks with Brazil and Turkey, to secure orders for the company’s most advanced warship in the hopes it could save its UK shipyards from closure.

The company is reviewing its business in light of cuts in UK defence spending, including considering whether to close one of its three shipyards in Glasgow and Portsmouth.

In contrast to the UK, Brazil and Turkey are expanding their navies, with BAE earlier this month having sold Brazil three ocean patrol boats for £133m – the biggest naval deal with the country so far. Now BAE hopes to sell them the Type-26 Global Combat Ship, its newest warship, which will support anti-submarine capabilities and have the potential to add air defence capabilities, but is still in the design stage.

Many of the world’s emerging economies, including Brazil and Turkey, want to build as much of their fleet as possible at home.

But experts say the T-26 is so technically complicated that the first few examples may need to be built in the UK with Turkish and Brazilian engineers learning the production process before they take the knowledge home to build subsequent ships there. Such an arrangement would extend the life of BAE’s shipyards.

BAE said it was actively looking to work with Brazil and Turkey on its naval expansion plans. “This includes exploring the potential for Turkey to bring its maritime expertise to the Global Combat Ship programme to jointly develop ships for Turkey.”



BAE’s says by reviewing its shipbuilding business it is keeping its part of the deal. Filling the gaps left by order delays and cuts has proved far from easy and BAE has already come under fire from unions and politicians for cutting jobs in its jet fighter business.

The future – at least in the medium term – lies with new orders from countries that may want to do the work themselves, but still need the UK’s infrastructure and experienced engineers to help them learn how to do it. To secure the shipyards in the long term, BAE will have to keep on the edge of technical advancement and hope that its biggest customers’ budgets and military ambitions recover.

Shopping for ships: Where BAE sees opportunities for its Type-26 Global Combat Ship

Turkey

  • The current national ship-building programme is called Milgem, which is for the construction of corvettes – small, lightly armed warships – already under way in Turkey by Turkish industry
  • Turkey has ambitions to strengthen further its naval fleet and BAE is exploring opportunities for partnerships in the maritime sector, and that could include the Global Combat Ship, which is still in the design stage
Brazil

  • The national naval equipment programme Prosuper includes a requirement for five ocean patrol vessels, five frigates and one logistics support vessel
  • BAE claims that the recent sale of three OPVs to Brazil, plus the manufacturing licence, positions the company well for future contracts.
I do not believe in coincidences much. And personally I do not think there is room for coincidences in the highly competitive marketing of defense industries. So why did two of the biggest shipbuilders of Europa reminded themselves to the Turkish public?

It is obvious that The Battle For The TF-2000 Project has started and the interested parties are drawing their lines.

TF-2000 is the next big deal for the Turkish Navy. And unlike the current on going constructions projects of the Turkish Navy, there is a huge income potential for the foreign defense companies. TF-2000 will be an anti-air warfare frigate that will survival in the presence of aerial threats and will provide also support functions such as command control and communication, reconnaissance, early warning, surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare and electronic warfare. Technicaly speaking TF-2000 will be larger and more complex than the Milgem and any other frigate in the inventory of the Turkish Navy.

While the mayor foreign input on Milgem was limited to weapon systems, radar and main machinery. But as the TF-2000 ships are going to have more complex software, sensors and weapon systems there is more room for foreign companies to push their solutions.

There are two full breed AAW solutions avaliable for Turkish Navy:

1) AEGIS sensor and command and control software suite + SM-2/3 Standart SAM missile family

2) S 1850M + EMPAR / SAMPSON sensor and command and control software suite + Aster 15/30 SAM missile family

A third option is a mix of the above mentioned systems: SMART-L + APAR sensor and command and control software suite + SM-2/3 Standart SAM missile family

Spain and Norway have chosen the first solution. Italy, France and UK opted for the second solution. The Netherlands Denmark and Germany have chosen the third way.

I regards the above statements from Navantia and BAE Systems as the opening shots of The Battle For The TF-2000 Project. We all will see where the events will take us from here.



For further reading click here.

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22 Jan 20125 Replies
The First Step For The TF-2000 AAW Frigate

During the latest meeting of the Turkish Defence Industry Executive Committee on 5th January 2012, Aselsan was chosen to develop a Multi-functional Phased Array Radar. This radar will be the main sensor of the TF-2000 air defense warfare frigates Turkish Navy wants to acquire in the next decade.

The Turkish Defence Industry Executive Committee assigned the Undersecretariat For Defense Industries to start, contract negotiations with Aselsan for the first phase of the development of a multi-functional phased array radar.

This is a small but very important step for the TF-2000 AAW frigate project as the design of the ship and its weapons will be directly shaped by the outcome of the Aselsan’s success of developing the MFPA radar or its failure to do so.

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9 Jan 2012Leave a reply
Dissecting Jpost Op-ed “Turkey vulnerable to rising Russian power in the Black Sea”


A ESSM missile being fired from a Mk-41 launcher on board of a Turkish frigate. But Mr. Tanchum tells us that these missiles will get into Turkish inventory in 2016. May be these are not the ESSM missiles Mr. Tanchum is looking for.

Yesterday, The Jerusalem Post published an op-ed by Micha’el Tanchum, which was first published in theTurkey Analyst. This this op-ed Mr. Tanchum explains that:

With the annexation of Crimea, Turkey faces a stronger and bolder Russian naval power in the Black Sea. A resurgent Russia may be tempted to exploit its temporary naval dominance to alter current Black Sea energy exploitation and transportation arrangements more in its favor and to the detriment of Turkey and its partners in the Caucasus.

While there a some aspects in this op-ed where I whole hearty agree there also some obvious and large material mistakes that raises questions about the credibility of the writer and his reason the write such a text.

Let’s start:

After gaining experience from the building of the slightly larger but more lethal TF 100 anti-air warfare frigates, Turkey then intends to build a series of TF 2000 frigates. Double the size of the TF 100, the TF 2000 anti-air warfare frigate will significantly advance the Turkish fleet’s transformation into a blue-water navy.

This is not correct. TF-2000 air defense ship project will supersede TF-100 project. TF-100 project is scheduled to start around 2020 to replace the MEKO 200 Track I frigates. On the other hand TF-2000 will be a major ship program and will form the mainstay of Turkish Navy with long range air defense sensors and weapons. TF-2000 is in early design phase and TF-100 does not exists even on blue-paper. Therefore it is not possible to say that one class of ships will be the double of the other as there is no data to compare at all. But I agree that TF-2000 will advance Turkish Navy into a blue-water navy.

The TF 100 frigates will be the first Turkish vessels to carry the American-manufactured RIM-162 Evolved Sea Sparrow Missile (ESSM) system capable of countering the current generation of supersonic anti-ship missiles.

It is absolutely and utterly false that TF-100 frigates are going to be the first ESSM capable ships in Turkish Navy. As you can see from the photo above Turkish Navy has today ESSM capable ships in operation. As the regular readers of this blog and people who really follow the developments in Turkish Navy know, Turkish Navy has installed Mk-41 vertical launcher systems in 4 of its8 Gabya (ex Perry) class frigates. And the main 2D search radars of these 4 ships with Mk-41 are being replaced by 3D radars. The main reason for the installation of the Mk-41 is to use the ESSM missile which is incompatible with the Mk-13 launcher on these ships.In addition to 4 Gabya class frigates 2 MEKO 200 Track IIB class frigates have Mk-41 launchers. This 2 ships are also capable to use ESSM missiles. And this capability will be retrofitted to the 2 MEKO 200 Track IIA frigates when their Mk-29 launcher will be replaced by Mk-41 VLS.

Turkey’s strategic vulnerability was not anticipated because of the view in Turkish policy circles that Turkey enjoys a relative parity with Russia in the Black Sea. However, the approximate parity exists only when Russia’s Black Sea Fleet is matched against all the major assets of the Turkish navy. Prior to the Crimean conflict, Russia’s Black Sea fleet consisted of 24 major surface combatants and one diesel submarine while Turkey’s major naval assets consist of approximately 24 surface combatants and 14 submarines. The parity is illusory as it is unlikely that Turkey would be able to deploy all or most of its naval assets in a Black Sea conflict.

I have always found making a comparison between Turkish and Russian Naval Forces very difficult as Russia has 3 other Fleets and it is not clear whether Turkey can mobilise all its major naval units to the Black Sea.
But I have difficulty to calculating Mr. Tanchum’s math on units numbers. The Turkish side is simple: 8 Gabya frigates + 8 MEKO 200 frigates + 6 Burak corvettes + 2 Ada corvettes and came up to 24 major surface units. On Russian side the math is not so simple. I have tired to remake Mr. Tanchum’s calculation based on Jane’s Fighting Ship reference book: 1 Slava cruiser + 1 Kara cruiser + 1 Kashin destroyer + 2 Krivak frigate + 6 Grisha frigate + 2 Sivuch corvettes + 5 Tarantul corvettes + 2 Nanuchka corvette makes 20 major surface units.
I have no idea where the other 4 units mentions in the op-ed were added to the Russian side. On the other hand if one is adding Tarantul and Nanuchka class ships to a comparison on Russian side then one has to add Yıldız and Karayel class fast attack craft on Turkish side. As in terms of displacement, on board weapons and sensors there is not much difference between Tarantul and Nanuchka class corvettes and Yıldız and Karayel class fast attack craft. Therefore I am thinking that Mr. Tanchum’s numbers are either biased or he has chosen his sample units poorly, which makes the above quoted comparison dubious.

With the annexation of Crimea, Turkey faces a stronger and bolder Russian naval power in the Black Sea. Russia now possesses the Ukrainian navy’s submarine and several, if not most, of Ukraine’s 11 major surface combatants. Even without the Ukraine’s naval assets, Russia’s own new additions to its Black Sea Fleet will enable Moscow to dominate the region. Russia recently put to sea the first of its six Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates. All six frigates are designated for service in the Black Sea Fleet.

It is true that the annexed Ukrainian naval assets increased the roster of the Russian Black Sea Unit. But this is only on paper. In reality most of the Ukrainian units taken by Russians are unfit for service and pose no thread to anyone. There are some reports that Russia has started to return some of the Ukrainian naval units back to Ukraine as they are not fit for service in Russian Navy. The Ukrainian submarine Zaporizhzhya sized by Russian forces was declared unfit for service but is still in Russian hands. Thus until newly build naval units start to arrive in the Black Sea the enlargement of Russian Black Sea units through the influx of Ukrainian naval units is not realistic thread.

Russia’s own new additions to its Black Sea Fleet will enable Moscow to dominate the region. Russia recently put to sea the first of its six Admiral Grigorovich-class frigates. All six frigates are designated for service in the Black Sea Fleet.

It’s true that Russia wants to improve its Black Sea Fleet with new frigates and submarines. But it is wrong to assume that these ships are going to be an addition the current warships. On the contrary these new constructed warships will replace existing old warships which reached the end of their usefulness. Therefore these new warships will not increase the number of Russian warships in the Black Sea 1:1.

Within the same 2016 timeframe, Russia will also add six newly improved Kilo-class diesel-electric submarines to its Black Sea Fleet ahead of Turkey’s deployment of an equivalent number of Ada-class anti-submarine corvettes. These two Russian procurement programs alone will quickly tilt the balance of naval forces in Russia’s favor, giving Russia a significant strategic advantage for a window of four to eight years depending on the pace of Turkey’s resumed production schedule

The above quoted paragraph shows that making naval analysis is not Mr. Tanchum’s strong suit. He is fundamentally wrong in his assumption that the main Turkish adversary of the Russian Kilo class submarines will be the Ada class corvettes. One does not fight airplanes with SAM missiles. One does not fight enemy tanks with ATGMs. The main weapons Turkey will use against the Kilo class submarines that will start to enter into service in (at least) 3 years time will be the submarines Turkey possess. And with 14 submarines in service Turkey has the strongest diesel-electric submarine force in NATO. These submarines are a huge force multiplier and one of our countries most important silent and deadly weapons. Six of the 14 submarines in Turkish inventory are nearing their useful life and they will be replaced by AIP Type 214 submarines. Even if Russian Black Sea Fleet enjoys an advantage in numbers for a time the air independent submarines will have the upper hand against the Russian submarines as they will not be AIP equipped.

It’s noteworthy that the new submarine construction programme of Turkey was never mentioned in this text.

Until Ankara can rectify the gap in naval capabilities created by MILGEM’s delays, Turkey will not be able to defend its national interests adequately as Russia attempts to reestablish its sphere of influence in the greater Black Sea region

During the Cold War the Black Sea was divided between NATO nation Turkey and 3 Warsaw Pact nations Bulgaria, Romania and USSR. How we have 3 NATO nations Turkey, Bulgaria and Romania. Plus Ukraine, Russia and Georgia. With the annexation of Crime by Russia the status quo in the Black Sea which was created at the end of the Cold War has changed. But this change is not unmanageable for Ankara as long as we have a long term political goal and will toreach it.

It is beyond any doubt that the cancellation of Milgem construction tender given to RMK Marine shipyard has created a havoc among the Turkish naval armament projects. But believing this delay will hamper Turkey’s ability to defends its national interest is wish full thinking.



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20 Apr 20141 Reply
BAE Lost The Turkish Bid, Before The Acquisition Process Started

The Turkish daily, Hürriyet Daily News, published an article by Mr. Özgür Ekşi, reporting that the Turkish Defense Ministry sent a letter informing their British counterparts, last month saying that Turkey was “no longer interested” in BAE Systems’ offer. Thus the hopes of BAE to take part in the next big Turkish naval acquisition project TF-2000 are terminated.

TF-2000 air defence warship, is one of the important naval future naval projects for Turkish Navy and for Turkish naval shipbuilding industry. Turkish Navy uses the Gabya class frigates for area air defence missions as they have the SM-1 anti-air missile. But both the missiles and the ships are getting past their prime ages, though Turkish Navy invests heavily in modernising the Gabya class ships with MK-41 VLS, ESSM missiles, Smart s 3D radar and with modern CIC and combat management software.

According to the long termed defence acquisition plans of Turkish Navy, it is envisaged that around year 2020, Turkey will need dedicated air defence warships that will defeat the modern aerial threats and provide cover for friendly ships and conduct support functions such as command and control, reconnaissance, early warning, electronic warfare.

The British defence giant BAE Systems, started in marketing their Type-26/GCS platform as a candidate for the TF-2000 programme. The British Goverment backed up BAE by designated Turkey as a strategic partner. In 2010, Prime Ministers Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and David Cameron signed a new Turkey/United Kingdom Strategic Partnership in Ankara. During his visit to UK, the President Abdullah Gül even visited HMS Dauntless.

So BAE was considered one of the main players in TF-2000 project along with Navantia as shipyard and Lockheed Martin as sensor and combat management system supplier. Till today.

U.S. defense industry giant Lockheed Martin has been left as the only bidder in the $3 billion project for the joint manufacture of six frigates for the Turkish navy after Ankara rejected the remaining contender BAE Systems’ proposal.

The project, however, may still not be awarded to Lockheed Martin if an agreement cannot be reached on the technical aspects of missile integration. Such an eventuality would cause the project to be shelved and then reshaped.

The long-delayed project envisions the TF-2000 frigate as a regional anti-air warfare vessel that would respond to aerial threats and also provide support functions such as command control, communication, reconnaissance and early warning. It would be bigger, heavier and more efficient in terms of war capacity than the vessels the navy has today.

The Defense Ministry last month sent a letter informing their British counterparts that Turkey was “no longer interested” in BAE Systems’ offer, an official familiar with the tender told the Hürriyet Daily News.

BAE is currently working on a new type of frigate, Type 26, which is internationally known as the Global Combat Ship (GCS). “BAE has already started the project. It was late to join. Our needs would have increased the cost. Or we would have had to review our requirements in accordance with the British Navy, but our requirements are different. BAE had also asked for a ‘license fee.’ The partnership offer would have become a model in which Turkey was financing BAE’s project,” the source told the Daily News.

But I think it is also to early for LM to pop-up champagne and to start partying.

Turkey’s defense procurement agency, the Undersecretary of Defense Industries (SSM), has come close to formally selecting Lockheed Martin, but it needs to hear the Turkish Navy’s decision on the choice of missile systems, which is the most critical part of the project. The ship will be designed according to the missile systems, because of their enormous weight.

Selecting the Lockheed SM2 missile system would simplify everything, as it is not heavy. The SM3 system would mean more negotiations on many aspects. It has a wider range, which means that the system would overlap with some of the Air Forces’ air defense duty. Missile integration is another subject to be solved.

Lockheed uses AN/SPY1 radar, while Turkish company Aselsan has started working on a smaller system called Multifunctional Phased Array Radar project (ÇAFRAD). Lockheed Martin has a Ship Integrated War Administration System called Aegis, which includes the AN/SPY1 radar, but Turkish Havelsan has already manufactured a smaller version called Genesis. Turkey wants ÇAFRAD to be inserted into AN/SPY1, Genesis to replace Aegis, and this combination to be integrated with the SM3 system.

If the two sides fail to resolve the missile integration question, then a second option will be considered. Turkey has successfully manufactured a corvette under the so-called Milgem project.

Milgem would be re-designed to manufacture a light frigate for air defense warfare and would be named TF100. “We have to develop something based on Milgem or we will waste all our know-how,” an industry source said.

I must add the following point for clarity: The formal acquisition process for TF-2000 has not started yet. According to the web site of Undersecretary of Defense Industries ” The feasibility studies for the TF-2000 project are completed. The model of the project will be created after the examination of feasibility studies”. The official start of the TF-2000 project is at least a couple of years even may be one decade away, dependimg on the avaliable budget.

Turkey said “Thanks, but no thanks” to BAE becuase of obvious and in my personal view from right reasons. But creating a new ship from scratch with a mixture of divers and sophisticated US and Turkish sensors, management software and weapons is a daunting task for every project manager.

For further reading:
The Battle For The TF-2000 Project Has Started
BAE Systems, Global Combat Ship And Turkey (Part 1)
My Impressions From 4.Naval Systems Seminar
IDEF’11 Update Part 2: Companies
IDEF’11 Update Part 1: Ongoing Naval Projects
UK – Turkey: Naval Industry Inward Mission (Part 2)

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21 May 2012Leave a reply
TCG Heybeliada Commissioned. A New Era For Turkish Navy


F-511 TCG Heybeliada

Yesterday was the 473. Anniversary of the Battle of Preveza. This day is also celebrated as the Turkish Navy Day. This years highlight was not the launching of thesecond Milgem class corvette F-512 TCG Büyükada but the commissioning of the first ship F-511 TCGHeybeliada.

The MILGEM class corvettes have a 99m mono hull with many stealth features incorporated into the design of the ship. The planned displacement was around 2,000 tons but apparently in grow to 2,300 tons. The armament is one 76mm Oto/Melara gun, 8 RGM-84 Harpoon missiles and 2 Mk-32 twin torpedo launchers. For self defense the ship is armed with a 21 cell RIM-116 RAM, 2 STAMP remote controlled stabilized weapon stations and Ultra SeaSentor torpedo counter measure system.

But I just I don’t want to talk about the specifications of these ships but I would like to stress what the MILGEM project means for Turkish Navy and how it will shape the future.


The combat information center of TCG Heybeliada. Note the map on the big blue screen at right! Photo: from NTVMSNBC

For Turkey the MİLGEM is the most important naval procurement project, going on. MILGEM is an acronym of the Turkish word Milli Gemi (National Ship). This high priority project is pivotal as it will form the foundation for experience and know-how for the design, production and integration of a complex warship through local means. The programme is also critical in defining the future of the customer – producer relationship between the Turkish Navy (as end-user and the builder of the first two ships), the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (as procurement agency) and private shipyards (as suppliers). The successful conclusion of this project will mark a new era for naval ship building in Turkey and will shape the Turkish naval ship building industry and the big future projects like TF-2000 air defence frigate.

The history of MILGEM goes back to the late 1990s. In 1996 Turkish Navy declared that it wanted to procure eight corvettes under the project MILGEM. As the name shows a maximum of Turkish contribution was desired from the beginning. When the project first started, a German shipyard immediately offered their corvettes design which was then still largely on drawing board. This move was logical as they did not wanted to lose a lucrative market for them. After delays due to severe economic crises, MILGEM was brought into life by Defense Industry Executive Committee (DIEC) in February 2000. Initial acquisition numbers were eight platforms plus four optional.

Despite the fact that twelve shipyards acquired the Request for Proposal, only two submitted proposals, both of which were found to be invalid due to the deficiency in the bid bonds.

Thus it seemed for a couple of years as if the MILGEM project was put on ice. In 2004 in an unprecedented move a dedicated design office was created for MILGEM by Turkish Navy. MILGEM Project Office (MPO) which is located at Istanbul Naval Shipyard was tasked with all design and construction activities regarding the ship.

After the MPO started to design the ship, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, the main defense procurement agency in Turkey, started in cooperation with Turkish Navy, the bidding process for various sub systems of the ship. In parallel, a series of workshops were organized in order to arouse the interest of the commercial ship building, machinery and supporting industries. This was necessary in order to obtain a high degree of local contribution.


The bridge of TCG Heybeliada. Photo: from NTVMSNBC



Thus MILGEM grew above being just a simple ship building program, as some of the important sub systems, equipment and sensors are being produced for the first time for MILGEM. For example the hull mounted sonar to be used in MILGEM class warships was developed by TUBITAK. It is worth to note that the sonar installed in TCG Heybeliada is the first ever sonar designed and constructed in Turkey. Similarly, the fire control radar for the main gun developed by Aselsan, is the first fire control radar ever designed and produced in Turkey. Many sub systems and sensors developed from MILGEM will be used in the future ship building projects of the Turkish Navy for sure.

With this project many small or medium sized Turkish companies specialized in their own fields such as water treatment or marine subsystems production started to do business with Turkish Armed Forces. For these companies doing business with the armed forces was a steep learning process. Many companies found the military standards and the test to prove that the products are up the these standards very high. The preparation of the necessary usage and maintenance documents was also a challenge especially for the smaller companies as it required a dedicated staff. In my eyes the success of the MILGEM project is to create the synergy and the excitement for all participants and giving the support for overcoming the difficulties in a harmonious way.

The success or the failure of the MILGEM programme, will directly influence the procurement model for the all planned major combat ship projects such as TF-2000. Turkish Navy has a requirement for a dedicated anti air warfare frigate to create a wide reaching air defense umbrella for its task forces, if necessary. Turkish Navy is defining her requirements and Undersecretariat for Defense Industries is defining its acquisition model. TF-2000 programme will start probably when MILGEM production is handed over from Istanbul Naval Shipyard to private shipyards. The current plans forecast 4 frigates to be commissioned in 2018-2020 time frame.

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28 Sep 20113 Replies
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Having "delays " within a project and a delayed project means 2 different things. Delayed project more refers to suspended project.
I have seen by my eyes how hard people work for thes projects day and nights and wouldnt let anyone eventhough whoever experts are , saying project is delayed.
 
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I never did mean supended. If I mean "delayed", I mean not just in time.

Cem Devrim Yaylali is an international respected expert

About Me |
 
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From NATO exercise
Fleet marine detachment visible aboard the ship.

20150926-SNMCMG2-LEAVING FROM CATANIA-26SEP2015-Photo by PO1 F.SEZGIN (SNMCMG2 Staff)

12068544_737582459680841_7847082699850777462_o.jpg



Btw,
At the hot wash up aboard frigate Hamburg, the seats were dominated by DZKK Naval Aviators :D.
 
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Having "delays " within a project and a delayed project means 2 different things. Delayed project more refers to suspended project.
I have seen by my eyes how hard people work for thes projects day and nights and wouldnt let anyone eventhough whoever experts are , saying project is delayed.
Unfortunately it looks like the TF-100, Milgem Corvettes, and TF-2000 are just replacements for our older ships. After acquiring these new classes of frigates we will actually have the same level of naval power as we do now of course we will be more updated but so will Russia and the others. At the end of the day we are not getting a major advantage over everyone else just an update. Are we getting these ships in greater numbers? Will our navy be bigger than it is now? As the article pointed out Russia has a serious fleet in the Black Sea especially now with the addition of Ukrainian ships.

Is my observation correct that we are just updating but not actually becoming significantly more powerful? Sure we get the bigger TF-200's so we get good aaw capabilities but others in the mediterranean are getting French Fremms, and Russia will be updating its fleet.
 
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I have always wanted to ask why we don't have a single destroyer. I'm an amateur so don't be rude if I'm wrong please.
 
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Because we have been an underdog in the last couple centuries and couldn't even protect our interest in the close vicinity let alone going overseas to protect our interests. We can only shoot from our mainland. We need a couple more decades of progress with the pace that we did in the past 10 years before we get to a level of power when we can actually utilize the power of a destroyer. Like did China. They need all kind of weapons now because they can use them.
 
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12074655_1027180190655127_478270727773528276_n.jpg


12049580_1027180193988460_2603501711075135516_n.jpg



tam yükle deplasmanı 2.45o tondan yaklaşık 3.ooo tona, seyir siası 3.5oonm’den yaklaşık 6.ooonm’ye, gemisavar güdümlü mermi sayısı 8’den 16’ya ve hava savunma füze sayısı 21’den 64’e çıkarılan ‘İ’ Sınıfı Fırkateyn Programı başlatılmıştır.İ Sınıfı Fırkateyn ProgramıİLK geminin [TCG İstanbul] inşasına 2o17 başlarında İstanbul Tersanesi Komutanlığında başlanılmasının planlandığı ‘İ’ Sınıfı Fırkateyn Programı altında toplamda dört fırkateynin inşa edilmesi öngörülmüştür.

Ada Sınıfı ile aynı radar ve sonar donanımı yer alacak olup, Ada Sınıfından farklı olarak 16 hücreli ve ‘Quad Pack’ özellikli Mk41 VLS sayesinde toplamda 64’e kadar 25km etkili menzile sahip RIM-164 ESSM Füzesi ve 16’ya kadar RGM-84L Harpoon Blok II ve/veya Atmaca Gemisavar Füzeleri ile donatılacaklardır. Ada Sınıfı Korvetlerde halen 21 hücreli Mk49 Mod 3 Lançerinde taşınan RIM-116 Blok 1A/HAS Füzeleri yer almakta. Ancak ‘İ’ Sınıfında CIWS Silah Sistemi olarak Phalanx Mk-15 Blok 1B [Baseline 2] çözümünün tercih edilmesi bekleniyor.
 
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12074655_1027180190655127_478270727773528276_n.jpg


12049580_1027180193988460_2603501711075135516_n.jpg



tam yükle deplasmanı 2.45o tondan yaklaşık 3.ooo tona, seyir siası 3.5oonm’den yaklaşık 6.ooonm’ye, gemisavar güdümlü mermi sayısı 8’den 16’ya ve hava savunma füze sayısı 21’den 64’e çıkarılan ‘İ’ Sınıfı Fırkateyn Programı başlatılmıştır.İ Sınıfı Fırkateyn ProgramıİLK geminin [TCG İstanbul] inşasına 2o17 başlarında İstanbul Tersanesi Komutanlığında başlanılmasının planlandığı ‘İ’ Sınıfı Fırkateyn Programı altında toplamda dört fırkateynin inşa edilmesi öngörülmüştür.

Ada Sınıfı ile aynı radar ve sonar donanımı yer alacak olup, Ada Sınıfından farklı olarak 16 hücreli ve ‘Quad Pack’ özellikli Mk41 VLS sayesinde toplamda 64’e kadar 25km etkili menzile sahip RIM-164 ESSM Füzesi ve 16’ya kadar RGM-84L Harpoon Blok II ve/veya Atmaca Gemisavar Füzeleri ile donatılacaklardır. Ada Sınıfı Korvetlerde halen 21 hücreli Mk49 Mod 3 Lançerinde taşınan RIM-116 Blok 1A/HAS Füzeleri yer almakta. Ancak ‘İ’ Sınıfında CIWS Silah Sistemi olarak Phalanx Mk-15 Blok 1B [Baseline 2] çözümünün tercih edilmesi bekleniyor.

I love and have missed you so much....
 
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