Budanov: Ukraine’s second Ada-class corvette nears completion in Istanbul
Kyrylo Budanov, head of Ukraine’s Presidential Office, said construction of the Ukrainian Navy’s second Ada-class corvette, Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi, is in its final stages in Türkiye. Interfax-Ukraine reported the remarks on 12 November 2026, after Budanov visited the building site in Istanbul. STM, the Turkish contractor, still lists delivery for 2027. The visit statement does not say that the ship has already put to sea.
According to Interfax-Ukraine, Budanov wrote on his official Telegram account: “I visited the construction site of the Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi corvette in Istanbul. The work is in its final stages.” The agency identified the vessel as the second of two corvettes that STM is building for the Ukrainian Navy.
Budanov said he had met the corvette’s commander, Captain 2nd Rank Yuriy Pyshchyk, and spoken with the Ukrainian crew. Preparations for the sailors were “in full swing,” Interfax reported. The next steps, in his account, are the ship’s maiden voyage, sea trials and handover to Ukraine. That sequence indicates the corvette has not yet sailed under its own power.
STM’s published schedule still points to 2027
STM and Ukraine’s Ministry of Defence signed the contract on 17 December 2020. The company’s official project page says STM is the prime contractor for two corvettes built in Türkiye, including a technology-transfer element. STM describes the programme as Türkiye’s first and only corvette export to Europe.
The first ship, Hetman Ivan Mazepa, had its steel cut on 28 April 2021, was launched on 2 October 2022 and began sea acceptance trials on 29 May 2024. Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi was launched on 1 August 2024 and, on STM’s page, is scheduled for delivery in 2027. Budanov’s “final stages” remark is an assessment of the work as it stands; it is not a new official delivery date.
The visit statement did not give a contract value, a weapons fit or a transfer route. How and when the ship will move to Ukraine was not announced in the texts reviewed for this report.
The sequence Budanov set out draws a practical line: even if construction is “in its final stages,” the first time at sea, the trials and the handover still lie ahead. The ship has been in the water since its launch in August 2024 and is being fitted and prepared for tests; acceptance is not complete. The fact that the first ship, Mazepa, began sea acceptance trials in May 2024 shows that the programme is running on two hulls. It does not follow from the visit statement that the second ship will keep to the same timetable.
Class and context
Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi is based on Türkiye’s Ada-class corvette design, a compact anti-submarine warfare ship of about 2,400 tonnes. The wider export file is covered in Envanter’s survey of Türkiye’s warship exports and its analysis of the MİLGEM / Ada class. This report records the 12 November status update; it does not replace those earlier pieces.
Sources
- Interfax-Ukraine, 12 November 2026: Second Ukrainian Navy corvette Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi nears completion – Budanov
- Interfax-Ukraine (Ukrainian), 12 November 2026: Буданов: будівництво другого корвета для ВМС ЗСУ “Гетьман Іван Виговський” виходить на фінішну пряму
- STM, Ukrainian Corvette Project (official): stm.com.tr/en/ukrainian-corvette-project and the Turkish page
