First Upgraded PREVEZE Class Submarine, TCG Preveze, Will Return to the Turkish Fleet by the End of March 2022

Thanks to its improved capabilities, the diesel-electric powered TCG Preveze Submarine proved that it was ready for duty with its performance during the Sea Acceptance Tests (SAT) and the Live Firing Tests (fired several DM2A4 Training Torpedoes via MÜREN CMS) carried out during December 2021 and January 2022. The first Sea Acceptance Test with the TCG Preveze Submarine was supposed to be performed on September 27, 2021, during the 483rd anniversary of the TNF’s Preveza Naval Victory, but this schedule could not be met due to the delays experienced in the program.

The contract of the MÜREN-PREVEZE Modernization Project was signed on August 1, 2017, and carried out by the Main Contractor TÜBİTAK BİLGEM. Under the project, the obsolete ISUS-83/2 Combat Management System with 4 Operator Consoles onboard the TCG Preveze Submarine was replaced with the new generation and fully integrated MÜREN CMS with 5 Operator Consoles, and 20 different sensors and the navigation system were also upgraded. Within the scope of MÜREN-PREVEZE Project, for each PREVEZE Class Submarine YALTES, TÜBİTAK BİLGEM subcontractor, delivers a total of 4 water-cooled (chilled water) Electronic Cabinets in two different sizes for data and video related electronic components (long ones EC-1 and EC-2) and power units (short ones EC-3 and EC-4) as well as 2 Weapon Control Cabinets (for torpedo firing) and 5 water-cooled MOCs. YALTES will complete deliveries of the CMS equipment for the 2nd, 3rd and 4th submarines in 2022.

TCG Preveze, the first of the four PREVEZE Class (Type 209/1400) submarines to be modernized under the MÜREN-PREVEZE Modernization Project, will also be the last submarine of the PEVEZE Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) Project, which is being carried out under a separate contract. After passing all environmental condition tests and electromagnetic compatibility tests according to the platform requirements, the upgraded sensors and systems underwent Combined Hardware/Software Acceptance Testing with the MÜREN software provided by TÜBİTAK in the Land-Based Test System established at the Turkish Naval Research Center Command (ARMERKOM/TNRCC) MÜREN Laboratory. Subsequently, they were transported to the submarine via restricted access lines and installed. In the project, the Harbour Acceptance Tests (HAT) were completed in November 2021, and then the Sea Acceptance Tests (SAT) Phase was started. 

The indigenously developed MÜREN Integrated Underwater Combat Management System is the productized versions of the algorithms and software developed by TÜBİTAK MAM/BİLGEM under the "DATAS" (acronym for Submarine Tactical Simulator in Turkish) Project in 2005 and communicated in the national middleware "GENIEWARE." In this context, the MÜREN-PREVEZE CMS (the first sub is about to be delivered) is the second application after the MÜREN-AY CMS, which was completed in early 2019. The development of the national middleware called “GENIEWARE”, derived from the words “GENESİS Infrastructure and Middleware”, has been continued by ARMERKOM since the beginning of the 2000s (same middleware is also included in ADVENT CMS).

… TCG Preveze Expected to Launch AKYA National HWT in 2022 Q1

With the modernization, the TCG Preveze Submarine, which can only fire the Mk24 Mod 2 TigerFish Heavyweight Torpedo (HWT) before, also gained DM2A4 SeeHecht and AKYA National HWT firing capability. Both DM2A4 SeeHecht and AKYA are new generation, long-range, dual purpose HWTs against submarines and ships, featuring electrical propulsion system and a fiber optic cable for torpedo guidance. The firing capability of the DM2A4 Training Torpedo via MÜREN CMS was successfully demonstrated during the SAT phases of both the MÜREN-AY and MÜREN-PREVEZE Projects. On March 8, 2021, a contract was signed between the Main Contractor TÜBİTAK BİLGEM and the Turkish Naval Forces İstanbul Naval Supply Group Command for the integration of AKYA National HWT to the TCG Preveze Submarine and MÜREN CMS. I have been told that as part of the MÜREN-PREVEZE CMS - AKYA Integration Project, the Turkish Naval Forces (TNF) is planning to conduct a live firing with a war shot AKYA National HWT (with live warhead and acoustic head) from the TCG Preveze submarine against an actual surface target (target ship) during the first quarter of  2022.

On the other hand, the TNF also plans to provide AKYA National Heavyweight Torpedo capability to GÜR Class (Type 209/1400 Mod) Submarines, which are planned to be modernized in the coming years. Under the AKYA Modern Torpedo Project, which was initiated on May 8, 2009, to meet the 533mm (21 inches) modern heavyweight torpedo requirement of the TNF with national means, the first guided firing test with the AKYA HWT (without a live warhead) against a mock target was successfully carried out from GÜR Class TCG Gür Submarine on January 20, 2021, at the Submarine Training Field located in the Gulf of İzmit in the Sea of Marmara. However, this test was conducted without the full integration of the torpedo to the CMS (the torpedo was manually launched from the tube as it was not fully integrated to the CMS and thus cannot be fired remotely). With the AKYA Modern Torpedo Project, the TNF added the first homing torpedo that is produced by national means to its inventory.

PREVEZE Class Submarines are also expected to gain ATMACA Block II Anti-Ship Cruise Missile capability after the MÜREN-PREVEZE and PREVEZE Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) projects, currently carried out under two separate contracts.

Within the scope of the comprehensive Mid-Life Upgrade (MLU) the PREVEZE Class Submarines (S-353 Preveze, S-354 Sakarya, S-355 18 Mart and S-356 Anafartalar) will be equipped with new generation Sonar, Surveillance and Attack Periscopes, Satellite Communication (SatCom) System, Integrated Communication System, Electronic Support System (ESM), Marine Radar, WAIS System and ASCM Fire Control System. According to the Project schedule, TCG Sakarya – the first submarine, will be delivered in 2024 after the SAT (Sea Acceptance Tests). Then, the modernization of the three remaining submarines will be completed by the end of 2028. TCG Preveze is the first submarine upgraded with the MÜREN-PREVEZE CMS and TCG Sakarya will be the first submarine to receive both MLU and MÜREN-PREVEZE CMS upgrades at the same time