İstanbul Shipyard Command has laid down the first block of the first Tepe-class destroyer TCG Kocatepe, which is expected to be launched around the 2027’s end.
Anadolu Agency News reported that Commander of Turkish Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu stated that the first block of the TCG Kocatepe AAW destroyer, the lead ship of the Tepe-class, was laid down during the Mavi Vatan 2026 exercise.
Close to the timeframe previously given by ASFAT’s Naval Programmes Director Kerem Orcun Yüksekdağ, for the laying of the first block of the lead ship, the Tepe-class destroyer (TF-2000) programme has reached a milestone in the construction phase.
The lead ship will be named TCG Kocatepe after the ex-Gearing-class ASW destroyer that sank during the Cyprus Peace Operation in 1974 due to friendly fire from Turkish aircraft.
As the follow-up to the I-class frigates, Tepe-class destroyers will provide extensive fleet and mainland air defence coverage with the ÇAFRAD dual-band AESA radar suite (CENK 700-N IFF, CENK 600-N S-band searching radar and CENK 500-N X-band multi-function radar) and a generous missile load provided by 96 strike-length MİDLAS VLS cells. The MİDLAS cells will house HİSAR-D, SAPAN G/M-1, SİPER 1-D, and SİPER 2-D air defence missiles to cover different ranges.
In addition to air defence task, the ships will have long-range land attack capabilities with the GEZGİN land attack cruise missile from TÜBİTAK SAGE, as well as ASuW with vertically launched ATMACA anti-ship missiles.
Tepe-class destroyers are also planned to deploy UAVs alongside helicopters and potentially USVs to support different missions.
