STM exhibited the pressure hull of Turkiye’s first national submarine for special operations and attack purposes, the STM500, at the SAHA Expo.
The test production of the STM500 pressure hull was completed in 2023, including quality test processes. With the successful production of the first test block at TEKFEN facilities under the supervision and control of STM engineers, with completely domestic infrastructure and facilities, the test blocks of a war submarine were produced domestically in the civil industry for the first time in Turkiye.
The first submarine pressure hull produced in the civil industry with domestic facilities in Turkiye within the scope of the STM500 project was exhibited for the first time at the SAHA EXPO Fair.
STM General Manager Özgür Güleryüz, drawing attention to the fact that STM is the first engineering company in Turkiye with submarine design, construction and modernisation capabilities, noted the following:
“We set out to design our national submarine with the experience we gained from the construction and modernisation projects we carried out for the Turkish Navy and the Pakistan Navy. With our innovative R&D approach and STM’s resources, we designed our country’s first special operations and offensive national submarine, the STM500. Then, we rolled up our sleeves to do something no one else in Turkiye had done before and started working on the resistant boat. At this point, we have successfully produced our first test block with domestic resources. We have shown that Turkish defence and industry can develop the block of a war submarine domestically. With this development, we have also provided a civilian company with submarine pressure hull construction and quality control infrastructure capabilities for the first time in Turkiye.”
Stating that the STM500 has a high export potential, Güleryüz said, “Naval representatives of countries with geographically shallow waters are closely following the development process of the STM500. Compared to a classic war submarine, its cost-effectiveness and the fact that it will perform special forces operations with its underwater deployment vehicle, in addition to all tasks, are among the features that make the STM500 stand out. We aim to equip the STM500 with the national warfare technologies of our domestic defence companies and to show the level that Turkish naval engineering has reached.”
