ASELSAN Defence Technologies Yonca Shipyard

What Is Yonca Shipyard? The Turkish Yard Behind 170+ Patrol and Attack Craft in 10 Countries

Since 1986, a small shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul has been quietly building one of Turkey’s most successful defence export stories. Yonca Shipyard has designed and delivered more than 170 fast patrol and attack craft to 14 organisations across 10 countries. Its Multi Role Tactical Platform (MRTP) family — ranging from 12-metre harbour-guard boats to 55-metre guided-missile attack craft — has become the platform of choice for the Turkish Navy, Turkish Coast Guard and a growing list of export customers from the Gulf to sub-Saharan Africa. Here is a closer look at what Yonca does, how it got there and where it is headed.

Who is Yonca Shipyard?

Yonca Shipyard (full name: Yonca Teknik Yatırım Turizm ve San. Tic. A.Ş.) was founded in 1986 by Dr. Ekber Onuk and his business partner Şakir Yılmaztürk, who serves as CEO. The company operates in the Tuzla shipbuilding district of Istanbul on a 44,000 m² site, of which 22,000 m² is covered. A 7,000 m² climate-controlled composite production hall and bespoke slipway infrastructure allow the yard to build hulls up to 66 metres in length and 850 tonnes displacement.

The yard’s identity was shaped by Dr. Onuk’s son Kaan Onuk, who developed the MRTP concept in the early 1990s: a single hull family adaptable to multiple mission roles through modular weapons and systems packages. Kaan Onuk submitted the MRTP-15 proposal to the Turkish Coast Guard in 1995, but was killed in a traffic accident in 1996 at age 22. His father and Yılmaztürk carried the project forward; the first ONUK MRTP-15 launched in June 1998 after winning a Turkish Coast Guard tender. In 2003, TÜBİTAK, TÜSİAD and TTGV jointly awarded the MRTP concept their 5th Technology Success Award.

The MRTP family

The MRTP lineup spans eight models from 12.65 m to over 50 m, in advanced composite or aluminium construction:

Model	Length	Max Speed	Key Role / User
MRTP 12	12.65 m	45+ kn	Harbour/base protection; Turkish Navy (8 units)
MRTP 15/16	~16 m	65–76 kn	High-speed intercept; Turkish Coast Guard “KAAN Class”
MRTP 20	~20 m	60 kn	Coastal patrol; 37 units to Turkish Coast Guard, Qatar, Egypt, Georgia
MRTP 24/U	26.3 m	54 kn	Special operations transport; Turkish Navy SAT commandos
MRTP 29/33/34	29–34 m	45+ kn	Attack/patrol; export customers
MRTP 51	~51 m	45+ kn	Guided-missile attack craft
SANCAR	—	—	Armed unmanned surface vehicle (USV)

The Turkish Coast Guard designates all of its MRTP variants as “KAAN Class” — Kaan-15, Kaan-19, Kaan-29 and Kaan-33 — preserving the young designer’s name in operational service.

Export record: 10 countries, 14 organisations, 170+ hulls

Yonca’s export portfolio is the most telling part of its story. According to open sources, its boats currently serve with the following countries and organisations:

Turkey — Turkish Navy, Turkish Coast Guard (largest user)
Qatar — Qatar Naval Forces
Egypt — 6 × MRTP 20; three built in Turkey, three under licence at Alexandria Shipyard
Georgia — Coast Guard / Navy
UAE, Pakistan, Malaysia, Oman, Somalia, Kuwait

The Egypt deal is particularly significant: Yonca did not merely sell a boat, it exported the technology. Licence-production agreements of this kind — increasingly common in Turkish defence exports — signal that the shipyard is competing on know-how, not just hardware.

Why the MRTP concept matters

The MRTP’s core value proposition is modularity: one hull, many missions. A single MRTP 20 can be configured as an armed coastal patrol boat, a special-forces insertion craft, a fast interceptor or a light missile platform, depending on the weapons and systems package fitted. This reduces lifecycle cost for the buyer and broadens the addressable market for the builder.

Advanced composite construction also gives the boats a lower radar cross-section and better power-to-weight ratio than equivalent steel or aluminium hulls. Weapon integration draws on Turkey’s own industry: ASELSAN stabilised turrets, Roketsan missile systems, Kale Savunma weapon stations.

Global rivals

In the high-speed composite patrol and attack craft segment, Yonca competes, per open sources, with:

SAFE Boats International (USA) — fast response and interceptor craft
CMN / Gowind (France) — attack craft and corvette derivatives
OCEA (France) — aluminium FPBs and OPVs for export markets
Damen (Netherlands) — broad patrol vessel portfolio
Fassmer (Germany), Navantia (Spain)

Yonca’s differentiator is the top-end speed figure: the MRTP 16 series reaching 65–76 knots puts it in a class few producers can match.

Outlook and export potential

170 hulls in 10 countries is a strong base, but the pipeline looks even more interesting. The SANCAR armed USV marks Yonca’s entry into unmanned maritime systems — a fast-growing segment where Turkish industry is building momentum. At IDEF 2025, Gulf, South-East Asian and African market contacts were reported in open sources. No confirmed new export contract beyond existing programmes has appeared in open sources at the time of writing.

Assessment

Yonca Shipyard has turned a young engineer’s concept sketched in the early 1990s into a genuine export franchise. The MRTP family’s modularity, composite-hull performance and successful field record across ten navies and coast guards make it one of Turkey’s most credible defence export brands. The next chapter — unmanned systems and larger missile platforms — will determine whether that franchise expands or plateaus.