What Indigenous Systems Are on TCG Istanbul? Weapons, Radars and Specifications
TCG Istanbul (F-515) is Turkey’s first indigenously-built national frigate and lead ship of the new Istif class. The fifth hull of the MİLGEM programme, managed by the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) with STM as prime contractor, was handed over to the Turkish Naval Forces on 19 January 2024 at a ceremony in Yalova attended by President Erdoğan. Most of its radar, sonar, electronic warfare, combat management and weapon systems are Turkish-built.
| Quick Facts | |
| Class / Project | Istif class — MİLGEM hull 5 |
| Prime contractor | STM Defence Technologies |
| Keel laid | 19 January 2017 |
| Launched | 23 January 2021 |
| Commissioned | 19 January 2024 |
| Displacement / Length | ~3,100 t / 113.2 m |
| Speed / Range | 29+ knots / 5,700 nm |
What’s aboard
ASELSAN supplies the bulk of the ship’s sensors: the CENK 400-N search radar, twin AKREP fire-control radars, ALPER LPI radar, AYDIN illumination radar, AHTAPOT electro-optical director, FERSAH hull-mounted sonar, HIZIR torpedo countermeasure system, and the ARES 2-N/AREAS 2-N electronic warfare suite. HAVELSAN’s ADVENT combat management system runs the ship’s command loop. ROKETSAN provides the ATMACA anti-ship missile (2×8 cells) and the HİSAR-D air-defence missile, fired from the indigenous MİDLAS vertical launch system — first fired in March 2024. Close-in defence is handled by ASELSAN’s GÖKDENİZ 35mm mount and SMASH 200/25 (renamed from STOP in 2023).
Propulsion (MTU diesels, MTU/GE LM2500 gas turbine) and the 76mm main gun (Leonardo, ex-Oto Melara Super Rapid) remain foreign-sourced — MKE’s indigenous 76mm gun is still in testing and not yet fitted to this ship.
2025-2026 developments
Istanbul has become the test bed for Turkey’s next-generation air-defence missiles: on 15 August 2025 it engaged a low-altitude UAV target with HİSAR-D (RF variant), and on 27 September 2025 it successfully test-fired the longer-range SİPER-1D from the same MİDLAS launcher — a significant step beyond the ship’s original weapon fit.
Sources
STM press releases; ASELSAN, HAVELSAN, ROKETSAN product pages; Naval News; Overt Defense (March 2024 HİSAR-D/MİDLAS first firing); SSB Naval Vessels Department internal dataset, cross-checked against independent sources.
Part of the Indigenous Power of the Blue Homeland series.
