Keel laid for Turkish Navy’s fifth Istif-class frigate
Turkey's Anadolu Shipyard has laid the keel of a new guided-missile frigate ordered by the Turkish Navy.
The yet unnamed vessel will be the fifth frigate in the locally built Istif-class. Class lead ship TCG Istanbul was built by Istanbul Naval Shipyard while recently launched sister ship TCG Izmir was also built by Anadolu Shipyard, though all frigates in the Istif-class were designed by STM Defence.
The Istif-class frigates will be used for anti-surface warfare, anti-air warfare, and anti-submarine warfare as well as secondary roles that include reconnaissance, surveillance, target detection, identification, recognition, and early warning.
As members of the Turkish-designed MILGEM family of warships, the Istif-class frigates utilise a modified Ada-class ASW corvette hull with greater dimensions to accommodate greater fuel capacity (for extended range), a larger battery of missiles, and a vertical launch system for surface-to-air missiles.
The frigates' armament will include a Leonardo 76mm naval gun, an Aselsan Gokdeniz 35mm close-in weapon system, two Aselsan STOP 25mm remotely controlled stabilised autocannon, Roketsan Atmaca anti-ship missiles, Aselsan/Roketsan Hisar surface-to-air missiles, and torpedoes. The gun armament, the self-protection decoy countermeasures, and the ASW systems on the Istif-class frigates are the same as on the Ada-class corvettes to help streamline local manufacture.
