The Romanian Government, through the Ministry of Defence, recently acquired the lead ship of a new class of light corvettes built by Turkish defence company ASFAT.
TCG Akhisar, which was sold to Romania for approximately €223 million (US$261 million), belongs to the MILGEM family of Turkish-developed naval vessels. The corvette and her sisters under the Hisar-class were derived from the Ada-class corvettes being operated by the Turkish Navy.
ASFAT said the turnover of Akhisar to Romania marks Turkey's first export of a warship to a NATO and EU member country.
Following delivery to Romania, the corvette will undergo outfitting, which would include the integration of new long-range surface-to-surface missiles developed by Kongsberg.
Akhisar has an LOA of 99.56 metres, a beam of 14.2 metres, a draught of 3.77 metres, and a combined diesel-electric or diesel propulsion arrangement that consists of four diesel engines, four generators and two electric motors.
The propulsion delivers a maximum speed of 24 knots, a cruising speed of 12 knots, and a range of 4,500 nautical miles.
Armament includes an MKE 76mm naval gun, an Aselsan Gokdeniz close-in weapon system, eight Hisar-D surface-to-air missiles, eight Atmaca anti-ship missiles, Roketsan anti-submarine warfare (ASW) rockets, and two Unirobotics Targan remote controlled weapon stations fitted with 12.7mm machine guns.
The corvette can also carry two rigid inflatable boats. Aviation facilities will be available for an S-70 Seahawk ASW helicopter as well as unmanned aerial vehicles.