The Turkish Ministry of Defence (MoD) has officially announced the launch of the TCG MURATREİS, the third submarine of the Reis-class (Type 214TN) fleet.

The Gölcük Naval Shipyard reached the milestone on May 29, 2025. On the 572nd anniversary of the Conquest of Istanbul.

AIP-Equipped Submarine Project TCG MURATREİS is being constructed under the Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP)-equipped project (YTDP), which was initiated through a contract signed on 22 June 2011 between Türkiye’s Defence Industry Agency (SSB) and German shipbuilder Thyssenkrupp Marine Systems (TKMS). The project envisions the construction of six Type 214TN submarines at Gölcük Naval Shipyard with a high degree of local industrial participation.

Project Timeline and Previous Launches

The first submarine of the class, TCG PİRİREİS, was launched in 2022 and officially commissioned into the Turkish Navy in 2024. The second submarine, TCG HIZIRREİS, was launched in May 2023 and is now being tested at sea. After MURATREİS, the building of the next three submarines in the program is moving forward at different phases.

Importance for strategy The Reis-class submarines are based on the German Type 214 design and include AIP technologies that let them stay below for a long time without coming up. The class is a big step forward for Türkiye's ability to fight underwater and for its industrial independence because it has its own fighting systems and torpedoes. The introduction of TCG MURATREİS shows that Türkiye is still committed to enhancing its maritime deterrent with modern, domestically manufactured ships.

Author: Özgür Ekşi