Turkey’s Naval Forces Command on Friday has received the country’s first intelligence collection ship.
“Ufuk, the first intelligence ship of our country, was built with national engineering capabilities,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the ceremony that was held in Istanbul Shipyard.
The Test and Training Ship A-591 Ufuk was launched by manufacturer STM in 2019. The 99.5-meter-long corvette was developed as part of the domestic ship design and development Project MILGEM.
Within the scope of national MILGEM project, Turkey aims to use local companies to develop indigenous products, and improve national military shipbuilding capacity and skills.
“Our country is currently among the 10 countries in the world that can nationally design, build and maintain a warship,” the president said.
Erdogan added Turkey has exported 180 offshore platforms to 25 countries so far.
The ship has a beam of 14.4m, a 10-ton flight deck and can reach a maximum speed of 18 knots.
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TurkishDefenceNews.com