2 Emergency Response and Diving Training Boats, 2 new SAT (Underwater Dredging) Boats and 8 High-Speed Patrol Boats were delivered to the Naval Forces Command during the ceremony held at Tuzla Desan Shipyard on August 23rd, with the participation of President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN.  The boats delivered at the ceremony are 71 percent indigenous (which is the highest rate in its own category).  In his speech at the event President Recep Tayyip ERDOĞAN underlined the nationalization efforts in the defense industry and said, “We have to keep moving forward, and continuously build more improved versions. We consider every one of our achievements as the pioneer to our next step. Every project conducted to this end by our public and private defense industry companies enable us to look to the future with confidence. Turkey has been determinedly proceeding in the defense industry. The progress we achieved in defense industry lies in the basis of many recent strategic accomplishments we achieved within and outside our borders. It is not possible for countries that are not powerful and that are dependent in the area of defense to be confident about their future. With the fulfilment of our national defense and security requirements, technological independence has become more critical than ever in creating deterrence in the international arena.” 

President ERDOĞAN underlined that the project stock in the defense industry has increased from 62 to 700 while the project budget reached over US$ 60 billion from US$ 5.5 billion as of 2002 and made a historic call to build aircraft carriers by saying: “The weapons and radars of our naval platforms have been equipped with indigenous products. So, let us build the second and the third aircraft carriers after TCG Anadolu LHD. We need to move to the next level. Turkey is one of the 10 countries in the world that is capable of designing and building its own battleships. Besides, many of our naval platforms registered in the inventory have been modernized with the addition of state-of-the-art technologies. The weapons, radars, communication and electronic systems that we equip our modernized naval platforms with are indigenous and national products. In addition to our achievement in building platforms, by integrating our unique anti-ship ATMACA missile to our vessels, we achieved substantial progress in the indigenization of critical weapons and sensors. Upon the completion of all these stages, our Navy has further strengthened its stance that gives confidence to our allied and fear to our foes.”

Minister AKAR: “The Indigenization Rate We Achieved in our Vessels is Impressive.” 

Taking the floor at the delivery ceremony held at Desan Shipyard, Minister of National Defense Hulusi AKAR drew attention to the indigenousness rate of the ships and added,“ Two Emergency Response & Diver Training Boats, two new SAT Boats and Eight High-Speed Patrol Boats with fully indigenous designs have been delivered to the Naval Forces Command. These products are considered among the few boats in the world with their fully indigenous designs and they are making their marks on exports as well. The rate of indigenousness we achieved in our vessels is impressive.” 

Minister AKAR stated that the Emergency Response and Diver Training Boats will enable the simultaneous diving of a minimum of 3 divers up to a depth of 90 meters and that the boats will be used in the diving training of diving staff in shallow and deep waters and continued, “The boats will carry out rescue diving and emergency response. The 2 boats that will take part in determining the location of stranded and sunken submarines have been delivered to the Naval Forces Command. For the first time an indigenous propeller which has been designed and manufactured by University-Industry cooperation has been classified by Türk Loydu Foundation” 

Cenk KAPTANOĞLU, Chairman of the Board of Desan Shipyard underlined the importance of the project for the Turkish Defense Industry. KAPTANOĞLU: “We are delighted to the pride of delivering these products built on behalf of the Turkish Defense Industry that shines on the fate of not only Turkey but also on all oppressed nations. These projects were launched by our President 18 years ago and were not limited to Turkey. We could have easily procured the propeller for this project from Germany, the shaft from Denmark and acoustic monitoring systems from the United Kingdom. Yet, by assuming the controlled risks on the path identified by our Dear President, we fully accomplished the manufacturing of these systems in Turkey. For the first time in a project of the Presidency of Defense Industries, the propellers and shafts of the vessels have been manufactured by our company in Turkey and have been classified by Türk Loydu Foundation. Acoustic monitoring and capturing systems have been completely manufactured through unique and national resources. Diving systems and pressure systems have been produced in Turkey, using the latest technologies. Data distribution systems and the entire electrical and electronic infrastructure have been built by Turkish companies. This is the first project to be delivered for the first time with complete main systems, port and sea trial. I would like to extend my gratitude on behalf of myself and my group firstly to our Dear President who has given us this opportunity, supporting us continuously, honoring us by attending our ceremony, to all the staff of the Presidency of Defense Industries and the Naval Forces Command who contributed to the project, to our engineers, to our workers and all our sub-contractor companies. This Pride is Ours; This is the Pride of Turkey.” 

Pressure Chambers Designed by Turkish Engineers and Local Companies 

Emergency Response and Diver Training Boats built at the Desan Shipyard of Kaptanoğlu Group create a significant amount of added value in the country with their indigenousness rate of 71 percent.  The modern pressure chambers were completely designed by Turkish Engineers and local companies in a form of 4 plus 2 within each Emergency Response and Diver Training Boats. The project has been registered as the first project amongst Turkish military naval projects where all ships have been completed and delivered simultaneously. In addition to fire detection systems, the shaft and propeller systems, steering system, diesel generators, acoustic monitoring and capturing system, data distribution system, air compressors, constant pressure chamber, diving panels, main distribution switchboard, boat control and surveillance systems of the historic project were manufactured directly through 100 percent local facilities. 

For Which Tasks Will the Boats Be Used?

The Emergency Response and Diver Training Boats will be used in applied diving training of the diver in shallow and deep waters. These platforms will support rescue diving and emergency response operations, and they will also participate in determining the locations of damaged, stranded, and sunken ships in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, Aegean and Marmara Sea. In addition to being used in emergency diving operations for responding to such incidents, these platforms will enable the deployment of underwater repair staff