Görgün: More than 40 indigenous naval platforms under construction

The head of Türkiye’s Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün, used a visit to the TEKNOFEST Blue Homeland festival to put a number on the country’s warship programme: more than 40 large indigenous naval platforms are currently being built in Turkish yards.

The festival ran from 20 to 23 August at Gölcük Naval Shipyard Command in Kocaeli, on the Sea of Marmara — the yard that sits at the centre of Türkiye’s military shipbuilding effort.

A fleet built at home

“Blue Homeland carries a very strong meaning. Türkiye has the strongest navy both in the Mediterranean and in the Aegean,” Görgün told TRT Haber at the event, adding that the capability rests on domestic production lines rather than imports.

The figure he cited — over 40 major platforms in build — covers frigates, corvettes, submarines, landing ships and auxiliary vessels at various stages of construction or delivery. Görgün put the local content share across the defence sector at 83 per cent.

He also pointed to the workforce behind those numbers. The average age in the Turkish defence industry is 34, he said, describing that demographic profile as the engine of what he called the country’s independence at sea.

KAAN and TB3

Asked about the National Combat Aircraft programme, Görgün said six KAAN prototypes are in production and that ground testing is moving quickly. He singled out the Bayraktar TB3’s short-deck launch and recovery from TCG Anadolu as a threshold moment for carrier-based unmanned aviation.

TCG Anadolu, an amphibious assault ship configured to operate armed drones rather than manned fixed-wing aircraft, was among the vessels opened to visitors at Gölcük. Görgün toured the ship, met the Fleet Commander and the Naval Technical Commander, and presented gifts to naval commandos.

Competitions on the quayside

Before boarding, Görgün walked the technology competition area, where he spoke with teams entered in the Unmanned Surface Vessel and Underwater Rocket categories and asked students about their designs.

TEKNOFEST’s competition programme runs across 56 categories this year, drawing entries from 96 countries. The finals are scheduled for 30 September to 4 October in Şanlıurfa.

Thirty-seven naval units and maritime platforms were displayed at Gölcük over the four days. Alongside TCG Anadolu, visitors saw TCG İstanbul — the first indigenous frigate of the MİLGEM programme — the logistics support ship TCG Derya, TCG Barbaros, the landing ship TCG Sancaktar, and the heritage vessels TCG Savarona and TCG Yavuz. Commando demonstrations, unmanned surface vessel displays, workshops and free harbour cruises filled out the programme.

Türkiye’s defence and aerospace exports have passed 11 billion dollars on a rolling twelve-month basis, with naval platforms accounting for a steadily larger share of that total.

Sources: TRT Haber, Anadolu Agency, A Haber