Turkish navy set to receive country's 'first intelligence ship' soon
The Turkish navy will soon receive a ship that will be used in intelligence gathering missions, as the sea acceptance tests of the ship have been completed. With the contract signed between the Presidency and designer company STM in 2016, the first works on the ship named “TCG Ufuk” were started in 2017.
Duvar English
Turkey's “first intelligence ship” TCG Ufuk corvette will be delivered to the Turkish navy anytime now, media outlets reported on Aug. 3, as the sea tests of the ship have been completed.
“The ship is planned to be used in the testing and training needs as well as signal and electronic intelligence missions of the Turkish Naval Forces,” Turkish Maritime Association (Turdef) said, citing a statement from the ship's designer company STM.
It was previously stated that the A-591 TCG Ufuk Ship would be delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces on July 31, 2020, but the delivery date of the ship was delayed due to the COVID-19 outbreak.
The ship has 99.5 meters of overall length, 14.4 meters of maximum width, 2,400 tons of displacement and 3.6 meters of draft, and the necessary platform for a 10-ton helicopter.
With the contract signed between the Presidency and company STM in 2016, the first works on the project were started in 2017.
After the completion of the construction process in the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, a launch ceremony was held for the ship in 2019, which also saw the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.