“Bayraktar”, the first of the two vessels featuring Amphibious Operation and Fire Support as main task functions and to be procured within the scope of the Landing Ship Tank (LST) Procurement Contract executed by the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) in order to fulfil the requirements of the Naval Forces Command was launched with a ceremony. President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister of National Defence Mr. Vecdi Gönül, Chief of General Staff Major General Hulusi Akar, Commander of the Naval Forces Admiral Bülent Bostanoğlu, high-level military staff and many participants attended the ceremony held for the launch of the first vessel built by ADİK Shipyard at the ADİK Shipyard in Tuzla.

In his speech at the ceremony, Vice Chairman of ADİK Executive Board Mr. Sualp Ürkmez stated that the second vessel sharing the same functions with “Bayraktar” -the launching ceremony of which is accomplished- was under construction and it would be entering into Naval Forces Command’s inventory eight months after the delivery of the first tank. Noting that the LST vessels were being designed and manufactured through local resources in maximum, as requested by the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, Ürkmez added that US., Spain, Netherlands, France and the United Kingdom were amongst their rivals in the production of the tanks in this range.