The contract signing ceremony for MİLGEM sixth, seventh and eighth ships, also the second, third and fourth ships of the İstif Class Frigates, was held on April 6, 2023, at the Defence Industry Agency (SSB).
Four days after the contract, the first welding ceremony of the İZMİR Frigate, the sixth ship of the Project and the second ship of the İstif Class frigate, will be held on April 10, 2023, at Sedef Shipyard. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will lay the first welding of the TCG İZMİR Frigate. Once commissioned, the ship will be named as “TCG İzmir F-515.”
On the same day, at the same shipyard, TCG ANADOLU Amphibious Assault Ship will be commissioned at the Turkish Naval Forces Command.
Private shipyards will carry out the MİLGEM project in partnership with state-owned STM and TAİS company. Anadolu, Sedef, and Sefine shipyards which form the TAİS, will simultaneously construct one İstif Class frigate in 36 months. These frigates will have nationally developed sensor suits and weapon systems. They will also be equipped with national air defence capabilities. In addition, nationalisation activities will continue in many areas, such as the Helicopter Capture System and various components of the main propulsion system. SSB President Professor İsmail Demir stated at the signing ceremony that MKE Inc would produce the 76 mm naval gun.
This gun was generally imported from Italy.
National solutions include the close air defence system Gökdeniz, the three-dimensional search radar Cenk-S, the fire control radar Scorpion, the illumination radar, the torpedo tube, the National Vertical Missile Launch System MIDLAS, Hisar-D will take place on all three ships.
