Turkey’s ASFAT in Talks to Sell Romania a Second HİSAR-Class Corvette
Turkey’s state-owned shipbuilder and defense contractor ASFAT is holding technical talks with Romania about supplying a second HİSAR-class offshore patrol corvette, Spanish defense outlet Infodefensa reported after visiting Turkish defense firms in Ankara. ASFAT representatives told the publication directly that the company is willing to supply a second vessel and is open to exploring technology transfer, including the possible establishment of a subsidiary in Romania.
The talks remain at a technical stage. ASFAT confirmed the contacts but has not announced a purchase decision or a signed contract. On the Romanian side, any decision on a second ship is said to depend on operational needs, available funding and procurement priorities, with no finalized framework yet for the scope, terms or timeline of further industrial cooperation.
First ship delivered in June
Romania’s first HİSAR-class vessel, the former TCG Akhisar, now commissioned as Contraamiral August Roman, was transferred under a government-to-government agreement signed in December 2025 and entered service with the Romanian Navy in June 2026. The ship cost €223 million including tax, with total costs to reach operational readiness estimated at about €265 million. Romania’s Ministry of National Defence had separately announced roughly €42 million earmarked for new combat systems.
The vessel currently carries a 76mm gun, two 12.7mm machine guns, fire-control radar with an electro-optical sensor, an electronic-warfare suite, a hull sonar and integrated communications. Romania’s planned second modernization phase includes a vertical launch system for air-defense missiles, a 35mm close-in weapon system, a torpedo launcher, an infrared search-and-track system, and Naval Strike Missiles (NSM), which Romania intends to acquire through the EU’s SAFE financing instrument.
Aselsan’s Gökdeniz stands out
One name featured prominently in the second modernization phase is ASELSAN’s GÖKDENİZ 35mm close-in air defense system. According to Infodefensa, the system fires ATOM fragmentation ammunition with an effective range of roughly 4 kilometers against drones and missiles. Its presence in a NATO member navy’s modernization package marks another signal of ASELSAN’s growing export reach in short-range naval air-defense systems.
Rising demand in the Black Sea
The HİSAR-class vessel first drew attention on June 20, 2026, when ASFAT delivered it to Romania on the same day it handed TCG Koçhisar (P-1221) to the Turkish Navy, in a joint double-delivery ceremony. If talks on a second ship for Romania advance, it would mark the second time rising Black Sea security needs have steered a NATO ally back to Turkish shipyards. ASFAT’s willingness to discuss local production or a subsidiary in Romania also points to a strategy that goes beyond a single ship sale, toward building a longer-term regional industrial partnership.
Infodefensa summarized ASFAT’s position as a stated “willingness to supply a second ship,” while stressing that no purchase decision or contract has yet been announced. The process is expected to take shape over the coming months, tied to Romania’s budget planning and fleet-renewal timetable.
Sources
- Infodefensa, “Romania explores buying a second Hisar-class corvette from Turkey after adding new combat systems to the August Roman,” Ángel Luis de Santos, October 20, 2026. Used as the primary source for ASFAT’s direct statements and technical details.
