Ankara, Jan 24 (IANS) Turkey has launched its fifth indigenous frigate produced as part of the MILGEM project, a national warship program.
Istanbul Frigate F-515 was designed with national resources, and over 75 per cent of its systems are of indigenous manufacture, according to the Turkish Presidency of Defence Industries.
The 113-meter-long frigate would perform advanced air defence and surface warfare, antisubmarine warfare, and patrol activities, Xinhua news agency quoted the Presidency as saying on Saturday after the launch earlier in the day.
It is expected to be delivered to Turkey’s Naval Forces Command in 2023.
Speaking at the ceremony in Istanbul, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Turkey will launch five major projects in the coming five years and bring its navy to a “very strong” position.
The MILGEM project was launched to build corvettes and frigates to be used for a wide range of purposes, including reconnaissance, surveillance, early warning, anti-submarine warfare, surface-to-surface and surface-to-air warfare, and amphibious operations.
Within the scope of the project, which consists of building eight ships in total, Turkey had launched four frigates in recent years.
–IANS
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