Turkey launches homemade submarine program

ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey has launched the country’s first indigenous submarine program, known as MILDEN, a Turkish acronym for “national submarine."

Under the plan, local defense contractors will design, develop and produce the R-class submarines at domestic shipyards by using the technology they earned from an ongoing submarine program.

Rear Adm. Mehmet Sari, deputy general director for the Defence Ministry’s shipyards department, said now that specialist teams have been assigned to the submarine program, the next phase is construction planning.

Delivery of the first sub to the Turkish Navy is expected by 2040.

The air-independent propulsion submarines will feature silent cruising, advanced heavy torpedoes and guided missiles. Several local contractors, from electronics specialists to missile makers, are to join the consortium that will build the submarines. The vessels will be constructed at the Gölcük naval shipyards.

“The program will be a copy of the German contract,” a naval specialist in Ankara told Defense News.

RELATED

India targets Turkish shipyard over ties with Pakistan

For the first time, India is taking punitive action against an overseas defense company that could see Turkish firm Anadolu Shipyard banned from doing defense-related business in India.

By Vivek Raghuvanshi

Under a 2011 contract worth €2.5 billion (U.S. $2.8 billion), six Type 214 submarines are to be built for the Turkish Navy, with some of the subsystems supplied by local contractors.

Turkish military electronics specialist Aselsan, a government-controlled company, is providing electronic support measures and sensor systems for the submarine program. Military software specialist Havelsan, another government-controlled company, will build an integrated command-and-control suite.

The Type 214 is based on the Type 209 SSK built built by German firm Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft. The Type 214 include design features from the German shipbuilder’s Type 212. The Turkish sub displaces 1,700 tons when surfaced, has eight torpedo tubes able to deploy heavyweight torpedoes — such as the Atlas Elektronik SeaHake — and has anti-ship missiles, such as the Harpoon and Exocet.

In 2017, Turkish and German naval specialists signed a letter of intent to cooperate on a contract to build a variant of the Type 214 diesel-electric submarine for the Indonesian Navy.

More In Naval

From customer to sanctioned ‘proliferator,’ drones extend Iran’s reach

Iranian contractors and government officials have picked up on market demand, frequenting arms expos and other events in Russia, Iraq, Qatar and more.

How the Space Force is making its systems more resilient

A little-known board has been working over the last year to identify resiliency measures and ensure the systems the Space Force buys meet those standards.

Lack of standards slows allied tech-sharing, Space Force official says

While the issue is often raised by commercial firms, the official told the Defense Innovation Board it is also a challenge for international allies.

Ellis to succeed Rey as director of Army Network Cross-Functional Team

Brig. Gen. Patrick Ellis is expected to take over this summer.

Anduril pairs with Korean shipbuilder to design new unmanned platforms

Anduril and HD Hyundai will collaborate to pair American software and autonomy with South Korean mass manufacturing in shipbuilding.