First steel cut for Turkey's three follow-on Istanbul-class frigates

A steel-cutting ceremony for the Turkish Navy's three follow-on Istanbul-class frigates was staged at Sedef Shipyard on 11 April. The ships will be built concurrently at Sefine, Anadolu, and Sedef shipyards and delivered to the Turkish Navy within 36 months. (STM)

A steel-cutting ceremony for the Turkish Navy's three follow-on Istanbul (TF-100)-class frigates was staged at Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla, Istanbul, on 11 April.

The three ships, which will be the second, third, and fourth ships of the Istanbul class, will be built concurrently at Sefine, Anadolu, and Sedef shipyards. The private shipbuilders operate as part of the TAIS consortium.

The steel-cutting ceremony was held one week after Turkey's Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) signed a construction contract with STM in partnership with TAIS for the three frigates on 6 April. Under the terms of the contract, the ships, which are to be named TCG Izmir (F 516), TCG Izmit (F 517), and TCG Içel (F 518), will be delivered to the Turkish Navy within 36 months.

The Istanbul class, also known as the MilGem II or Istif class, is a further development of the four Ada-class corvettes that were built under Turkey's MilGem programme and entered service between 2011 and 2019. The hull of the batch 2 ships is a stretched variant of the Ada class (by 14 m to 113.2 m) to enable the inclusion of a vertical launching system, additional anti-ship missiles, and an increased fuel capacity for greater endurance.

First-of-class Istanbul