Posted on January 9, 2025
The Turkish Ministry of National Defence (MND) has simultaneously initiated three major naval programmes.
During its weekly press conference on 2 January 2025 the MND announced steel-cutting ceremonies for the MUGEM (Milli Uçak Gemisi – National Aircraft Carrier), TF-2000 anti-air warfare (AAW) destroyer and MILDEN (Milli Denizaltı – National Submarine) programmes.
The steel-cutting steel ceremonies for the MUGEM and TF-2000 programmes were conducted in Istanbul Naval Shipyard, while the ceremony for the MILDEN programme was held at the Gölcük Naval Shipyard.
Unveiled publicly in February 2024, the MUGEM programme will produce an aircraft carrier that is 285 m long with a displacement of 60,000 tons and the capacity to accommodate 50 manned and unmanned aircraft (20 on deck and 30 in the hangar). The ship is set to feature three runways – two for take-offs and one for landings – and will initially feature a ‘ski-ramp’ design. Subsequently, however, an indigenous catapult system is expected to replace the ski-ramp. Aircraft slated for service on the future Turkish carrier include the Turkish Aerospace Anka-3 and Baykar Bayraktar Kizilelma jet unmanned combat air vehicles (UCAVs) as well as Baykar Bayraktar TB3 UCAVs, various rotary-wing aircraft and possibly navalised Turkish Aerospace Hürjet light combat aircraft.
The TF-2000 AAW destroyer project, meanwhile, is the final phase of Turkey’s MILGEM programme and was initiated in July 2017. With an overall length of 149 m, the TF-2000 destroyers will be the largest ships built under the MILGEM programme, which has so far led to the construction of corvettes and frigates. The destroyers will feature Turkish designed weapons that will include surface-to-air missiles intended to counter a wide variety of airborne threats, including ballistic missiles.
Turkey’s ambitious MILDEN national submarine programme was initiated in March 2012 and is intended to deliver submarines to the Turkish Navy by the mid-2030s. The boats will be more than 80 m long, have a surface displacement of around 2,700 tons and will feature an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system to facilitate stealthy operations and extend operational endurance. MILDEN submarines will be armed with weapons that will include the Akya heavyweight torpedo and Atmaca anti-ship missile produced by Turkish company Roketsan as well as the Gezgin land attack cruise missile, which is currently under development.
