What Indigenous Systems Are on TCG Heybeliada? The First Ship of MİLGEM
TCG Heybeliada (F-511) is the first ship of the MİLGEM programme and lead ship of the Ada-class corvettes. Delivered to the Turkish Navy on 27 September 2011, Heybeliada was the first concrete proof that Turkey could design, engineer and build a warship entirely with domestic institutions — the ancestor of today’s MİLGEM/İstif family.
| Quick Facts | |
| Class | Ada-class corvette (MİLGEM lead ship) |
| Prime contractor | Istanbul Naval Shipyard |
| Commissioned | 27 September 2011 |
| Displacement / Length | ~2,300 t / 99.56 m |
The birth of MİLGEM
Heybeliada’s 2011 delivery proved Turkey could carry out the full design, engineering and construction cycle of a warship domestically. The indigenous content of Turkish naval ships, around 20% at the time, has since risen to 70-80% on the İstif-class frigates that followed decades later.
Indigenous systems
HAVELSAN’s GENESIS combat management system runs the ship’s command layer, unifying search radars, electronic warfare, weapons and countermeasures. ASELSAN’s STAMP remote weapon stations and ARES-2N electronic warfare suite form the defensive layer, while the sonar was developed by TÜBİTAK.
SSB’s role
The MİLGEM programme was procured by Turkey’s then Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (today’s SSB); construction took place at Istanbul Naval Shipyard. SSB coordinated the project and oversaw integration of domestic subcontractors (HAVELSAN, ASELSAN, TÜBİTAK).
Sources
Wikipedia (TCG Heybeliada); ASELSAN corporate blog; HAVELSAN corporate content; US Navy official photo archive (Wikimedia Commons).
Part of the Indigenous Power of the Blue Homeland series.
