SSB Naval Projects: Every Active Turkish Navy Programme (2026)

Turkey’s Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) coordinates dozens of naval programmes as the procurement authority for the Turkish Navy. Spanning corvettes, frigates, submarines, an aircraft carrier, unmanned surface vessels and replenishment ships, this portfolio has made Turkey a country building roughly 50 military naval platforms simultaneously. This file compiles every active SSB-coordinated naval project with its current status.

SSB’s role: procurement authority, not manufacturer

A frequently confused point in Turkish naval programmes is the assumption that SSB “builds” the ships. In reality there are three distinct layers:

• SSB (procurement authority): translates user needs into project requirements, manages contracts, schedule and budget, and oversees subcontractor integration.
• Shipyard (prime contractor): carries out hull production and system integration. Istanbul and Gölcük yards belong to the Navy; Sefine, Anadolu (ADİK), SEDEF, RMK and Dearsan are private-sector yards.
• System companies: ASELSAN supplies radars, electronic warfare, weapon stations and electro-optics; HAVELSAN develops combat management systems; ROKETSAN provides missiles; STM builds platform management systems.

The MİLGEM family: Ada, İstif, TF-2000

Ada-class corvettes (4 ships, complete). TCG Heybeliada (2011), Büyükada (2013), Burgazada (2018) and Kınalıada (2019). Indigenisation rose even within the class: Burgazada was the first to carry ASELSAN’s HIZIR torpedo countermeasure system.

İstif-class frigates (7 ships, ongoing). An enlarged, more heavily armed derivative of the Ada class. The lead ship TCG İstanbul (F-515) is in service; the sixth (İzmir) and seventh (İzmit) have been launched and are fitting out. The remaining ships are planned to enter service between 2026 and 2027.

TF-2000 air defence destroyer (4 planned). The programme’s most ambitious tier. Block construction began at Istanbul Naval Shipyard after steel cutting on the first ship; launch is targeted for 2027. Design figures: 149 m length, 21.3 m beam, roughly 8,300 t displacement. TF-2000 will be Turkey’s first indigenously designed air defence destroyer and is expected to deliver area air defence with the SİPER missile family.

Submarine programmes: Reis class and MİLDEN

New Type Submarine Project (Reis class, 6 boats). Air-independent propulsion submarines based on the German Type 214 design, built at Gölcük Naval Shipyard. TCG Pirireis (S-330) and TCG Hızırreis (S-331) have been delivered; TCG Seydi Ali Reis is expected in 2026 and TCG Selman Reis in 2027. The indigenous dimension lies in the systems rather than the hull: HAVELSAN provides the submarine command and control system, while ASELSAN supplies integrated communications, electronic support, satellite terminal and IFF systems.

MİLDEN (National Submarine). Turkey’s first indigenously designed submarine. The first welding ceremony took place on 2 January 2025, aiming to convert construction experience from the Reis class into design capability.

Amphibious and landing craft

LHD / TCG Anadolu. Built at SEDEF Shipyard and delivered on 10 April 2023, it became the first ship to operationally fly the Bayraktar TB3 from its ramp.

Bayraktar-class LSTs (2 ships, complete). Built at Anadolu Shipyard — TCG Bayraktar (2017) and TCG Sancaktar (2018) — carrying a fully indigenous Automatic Mine-Laying System in both hardware and software.

New Type Landing Craft (YLCT, 8 ships). Contracted in April 2024, the project drew attention when the first ship, Ç-159, was launched in just ten months. SSB President Haluk Görgün stated indigenous content in this class reached 80 percent. The remaining seven ships are planned for delivery within 27 months.

Patrol and coast guard programmes

Offshore Patrol Vessel (ADKG / HİSAR class). Built by ASFAT at Istanbul Naval Shipyard, the lead ship TCG Koçhisar (P-1221) entered Turkish Navy service in June 2026. Six ships are being built for the Turkish Navy; sister ship Akhisar was sold to the Romanian Naval Forces and renamed Contraamiral Roman.

Tuzla-class patrol boats (16 boats, complete). Produced under a 2007 contract with Dearsan Shipyard — the first indigenous warship series built by private-sector yards. HAVELSAN’s ship information distribution system served as the combat system, with indigenous content reaching 70 percent.

Dost-class coast guard corvettes (4 ships, complete). Search-and-rescue ships built at RMK Shipyard. Note that the procurement authority for this project is the Ministry of Interior, not SSB.

MUGEM: the national aircraft carrier

MUGEM is Turkey’s first indigenously designed aircraft carrier project. Designed at roughly twice the size of TCG Anadolu (~285 m), it is planned as the permanent home of Baykar’s jet-powered KIZILELMA UCAV, under a Baykar-TUSAŞ partnership.

One common error should be corrected: earlier reports that KIZILELMA would operate from TCG Anadolu are outdated. Baykar clarified that while KIZILELMA could launch from Anadolu, landing would require further ship modification — hence a separate carrier is being designed.

Unmanned surface vessels

Turkey is among the few countries developing armed unmanned surface vehicles. ULAQ, developed with a fully indigenous design by ARES Shipyard and Meteksan Defence, entered service on 20 December 2025 in the same ceremony as TCG Hızırreis, carrying ROKETSAN’s CİRİT and L-UMTAS missiles. Other programmes include Yonca-Onuk’s SANCAR, the Sefine-ASELSAN MARLİN and Dearsan’s SALVO.

Logistics and support ships

DİMDEG replenishment ship. TCG Derya (A-1590), built at Sefine Shipyard, was delivered on 19 January 2024 in the same ceremony as TCG İstanbul, significantly extending the fleet’s blue-water endurance.

Replenishment oilers. TCG Akar (A-580), completed at Gölcük in 1987, proved Turkish yards could build large-tonnage ships years before MİLGEM. Four new oilers joined the inventory in 2024.

TCG Ufuk (A-591). Turkey’s first intelligence, training and test ship, built under STM as prime contractor with contributions from roughly 194 domestic firms and delivered on 14 January 2022; indigenous content reached 70 percent.

Modernisation programmes

GENESIS (Gabya class, 8 ships). A digital combat management system jointly developed by the Turkish Navy and HAVELSAN was integrated into second-hand Oliver Hazard Perry-class frigates acquired from the US. The first modernised ship was delivered in 2007 and the programme completed in 2011 — the first large-scale application of Turkey’s model for transforming foreign platforms with indigenous software.

Barbaros-class mid-life modernisation (4 ships). Conducted under an April 2018 contract between SSB and an ASELSAN-HAVELSAN partnership. Beginning with TCG Oruçreis in January 2022, it installs the ADVENT combat management system, GÖKDENİZ air defence system, STOP 25mm close-in weapon system, FERSAH sonar and HIZIR torpedo countermeasures — described as the most comprehensive MEKO-class modernisation project in the world.

Export programmes

SSB-coordinated naval projects also serve foreign customers. Export orders currently under construction include 2 MİLGEM corvettes for Ukraine, 3 for Malaysia (2027 target), 2 offshore patrol vessels and 2 attack craft for Nigeria, 1 HİSAR-class corvette for Romania and 2 logistics support vessels for Portugal. The Babur-class corvettes delivered to Pakistan were MİLGEM’s first major export success.

Sources

SSB official statements; Turkish Ministry of National Defence; SavunmaSanayiST; DefenceTurk; Mavi Vatan; C Savunma; Anadolu Agency; Turkish and English Wikipedia; Wikimedia Commons (images).

Part of the Indigenous Power of the Blue Homeland series.