Initiated by the decision of Defense Industry Executive Committee in 2004 and following the commissioning of the first ship TCG F-511 Heybeliada Corvette in 2011, the third vessel of the MilGem project TCG F-513 Burgazada Corvette was delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces Command at an official ceremony with the participation of  President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN, Vice President Fuat OKTAY, Minister of National Defence Hulusi AKAR, Chief of General Staff General Yaşar GÜLER, Commander of the Naval Forces Admiral Adnan ÖZBAL, Commander of the 1st Army General Musa AVSEVER. President ERDOĞAN also cut steel for the fourth submarine of the New Type Submarine Project “AydınReis” at the ceremony.

President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN delivered a speech at a ceremony held for the delivery of the Burgazada Corvette, the third ship of the MilGem Project, and the start of the construction of the AydınReis Submarine.

ERDOĞAN: “We will never allow Initiatives that are aimed at rendering it almost impossible for Turkey to set foot in the sea”

Stating that every ship that has joined the fleet increases Turkey’s strength, deterrence and mobility at sea and its determination to preserve national interests, President ERDOĞAN noted: “The recent incidents in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean have once again shown that our Naval Forces should be just as strong as other units of ours. We will never allow initiatives that are aimed at rendering it almost impossible for Turkey to set foot in the sea. We will also never allow initiatives that ignore our country and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and that are aimed at virtually usurping the natural resources in the Eastern Mediterranean.”

“We do not have our eye on anyone’s rights, especially on anyone’s lands. All we do is to defend the rights of our country and of our brothers and sisters,” President ERDOĞAN continued, and added: “Those who assumed they could engage in activities in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Aegean at the coast of Turkey have now started to understand how wrong they were. We will not allow bandits at sea, just as we have punished terrorists in Syria.”

ERDOĞAN: “I am very proud of the current level of submarine production capability”

President ERDOĞAN, emphasizing that he is proud of the current level of submarine production capability, considering the fact that it is considered quite an accomplishment in the world due to the complexity of its design and production, also stated that: “When we remember that until the 1960s, Turkey needed external support even to maintain its existent fleet let alone produce its own warships and submarines, we will better understand  the importance of this achievement.”

President ERDOĞAN said: “The defence industry activities, which we have been closely following and personally overseeing many of the projects since 2004, have shown us a fact and this fact is Turkey and the Turkish Nation with strong-will and determination will always rise to the challenge.” Continuing his statements, he also said: “We trusted our engineers, trusted our technicians, trusted our researchers, trusted our academicians, officers, and most importantly, we trusted our entrepreneurs. Ultimately, this fact brought products which allow us to compete with the countries at the top of the world’s highest league in every field from land to sea, from air to space.”

ERDOĞAN: “External dependence in the Defence Industry has decreased to approximately 35%”

“Turkey has cut down external dependence in the defence industry from around  80% to approximately 35% because of our sensitivity with regard to domestic and national design, development and production,” President ERDOĞAN further stressed, and noted: “It is evident that the more we develop the defence industry, the engine of technological progress, the more advanced we will get in other areas, as well. In the upcoming period, we will increase support for this area, which will give us a competitive advantage globally.”

At the end of his speech, President ERDOĞAN expressing his gratitude to the soldiers who are the field operators of such an important area, wished that the Burgazada Corvette will bring good luck to the Country, the Military, the Naval Forces Command, and to the crew of the ship, and thanked all those who contributed to the MilGem Project from the very beginning to the present.

ADA Class Corvettes

Constructed under the MilGem (National Vessel) Program, ADA Class Corvettes are wholly indigenous patrol/anti-submarine warfare (ASW) vessels, designed to meet specific requirements of the Turkish Navy in terms of speed, seakeeping and stability. Originally a total of 12 (8+4) vessels was planned to be constructed under the MilGem Program but as a result of changes in Turkish Naval Forces Command (TNFC)’s operational requirements current plan envisages a fleet of four ships. All of the design, integration (also covers the combat systems integration) and analysis studies for the MilGem Corvettes have been performed at Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command with the participation of both military and civil engineers. 

The first ship of ADA Class Corvettes TCG Heybeliada (F-511) was commissioned on September 27, 2011, the second vessel TCG Büyükada (F-512) was commissioned on September 27, 2013 and the third vessel TCG Burgazada (F-513) was commissioned on November 4, 2018. Construction of the fourth ADA Class corvette TCG Kinalıada (F-514) is continuing at Istanbul Naval Shipyard. TCG Burgazada was launched in June 2016 and TCG Kinaliada was launched on July 3, 2017. Provisional acceptance of TCG Kinalıada Corvette is scheduled to take place in October 2019. Compared to the first two ships, which are equipped with nationally developed CMS, namely ‘GENESIS’, the third and fourth Corvettes will be integrated with network enabled CMS ‘GENESIS ADVENT’ and Aselsan’s HIZIR Torpedo Defence System (replacing the existing Ultra Electronics Sea Sentor Surface Ship Torpedo Defence (System), SeaEye-AHTAPOT EO Reconnaissance and Surveillance System (replacing AselFLIR-300D) and AKR-D Block B2 Fire Control Radar System (replacing STING EO). GENESIS ADVENT CMS will be first integrated on TCG Kinalıada Corvette and then the existing CMS onboard TCG Burgazada will be upgraded to the GENESIS EDVENT level.

The MilGem concept enabled domestic production and development of critical technological systems such as; GENSIS (the version at TCG Bayraktar LST runs on around 3,9 million lines of code of software and can track over 2,500 tactical surface and air targets simultaneously) and GENESIS ADVENT CMS (the version to be deployed at TCG Anadolu LHD will run around up to 6 million lines of code), YAKAMOS-1 hull mounted medium frequency active/passive sonar family, 76mm gun fire control system, LPI radar, 12.7mm STAMP stabilized gun system, degaussing system, IR signature management system and laser warning system. While the TCG Heybeliada was constructed with a 65% local content share, this figure has been increased to 70% in terms of the value of the materials used in the construction and outfitting of the vessels and to 80% on an item basis in the following vessels.

The ADA Class Corvettes have a mono-hull, displacement-type hull form. Their overall length is 99.5 meters, maximum beam is 14.4m, displacement is 2,450 tons with a full load and their range at economic speed is around 3,500 nautical miles. ADA Class Corvettes accommodates a 10-ton helicopter (S-70B SeaHawk) with platform, hangar and extensive service and handling equipment. With their 32MW propulsion power, generated by one gas turbine (LM2500) and two diesel engines (CODAG system configuration), Ada Class Corvettes can reach 31 knots. 

According to SSB figures each ADA Class Corvette costs Turkey around €250 Million.