The Turkish defence industry has achieved two historic firsts simultaneously. Türkiye has exported a warship to a NATO and European Union member state for the first time, while the MKE-built indigenous naval gun DENİZHAN-76 has also been delivered abroad for the first time. At a ceremony held at the Istanbul Shipyard Command with the attendance of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Romanian President Nicușor Dan, the HİSAR-class offshore patrol vessel Contraamiral Roman (formerly TCG AKHİSAR) was handed over to the Romanian Naval Forces. At the same ceremony, the vessel's sister ship, TCG KOÇHİSAR, entered service with the Turkish Navy.
Two Sister Ships from the Same Workbench
In a post following the ceremony, President Erdoğan highlighted that both vessels are products of the same engineering vision. "I wish these two sister ships, born from the same workbench and the same engineering intelligence, good fortune for our navies. I believe both platforms will make significant contributions to our countries, the security of the Black Sea, the NATO Alliance, and the stability of our region," he said.
Erdoğan also outlined the progress made by the Turkish defence industry over the past 23 years with concrete figures. Stating that Türkiye has become the world's 11th largest country in defence exports, Erdoğan announced that last month a historic record was set with $996 million worth of defence and aerospace products exported. "Twenty-three years ago, we had $248 million in exports for the entire year; today we achieve that figure within a single week," he said.
MKE DENİZHAN-76 Exported for the First Time
Another historic dimension of the delivery was that DENİZHAN-76, the indigenous naval gun developed by MKE, was deployed as the main gun on a foreign warship for the first time. According to MKE's statement, DENİZHAN-76, which will serve as the main gun aboard the corvette Contraamiral Roman, marked the first time Türkiye has supplied an indigenous naval gun to the inventory of a NATO and EU member state.
In a statement regarding the ceremony, which was also attended by MKE General Manager İlhami Keleş, it was said: "With DENİZHAN-76, our indigenous naval gun bearing the MKE signature, we will continue to equip more vessels and add strength to the naval power of our friendly and allied nations, as well as our own Naval Forces."
DENİZHAN-76 is a 76 mm calibre naval gun system used on the Turkish Naval Forces' MİLGEM-class corvettes and offshore patrol vessels. The system provides effectiveness against both surface and aerial targets and is compatible with indigenous munitions.
Equipped with Fully Indigenous Systems
All critical systems used on the delivered vessels belong to domestic and national companies. The combat management system, search and fire-control radars, sonar systems and close-in defence weapons were produced by the defence infrastructure established under the leadership of ASELSAN, ROKETSAN, HAVELSAN, Makine ve Kimya Endüstrisi (MKE) and TÜBİTAK. Erdoğan emphasised that platforms of various types and classes are being produced with domestic content rates exceeding 80 per cent.
A Historic Threshold in Defence Exports
Stressing that the military shipbuilding industry is experiencing the busiest period in the history of the Republic, Erdoğan noted that more than 140 naval platforms have been exported to various regions to date. Announcing that over 50 warships are currently being built simultaneously, more than 15 of which are destined for friendly and allied nations, Erdoğan stated that the total value of ongoing projects has reached approximately €25 billion.
"We can build all our surface and sub-surface platforms – from the smallest boats to our SİHA carrier TCG Anadolu, from destroyers to submarines, and our national aircraft carrier MUGEM – using our national resources and capabilities," Erdoğan said, underlining Türkiye's ambition in the maritime domain.
"Those Not Strong in the Field Find No Place at the Table"
In his speech, Erdoğan made striking assessments regarding the global security environment. "We are right in the middle of an extremely chaotic period in which those who are not strong in the field cannot find a place at the table, indeed, may find themselves on the menu," Erdoğan said, adding that Türkiye is one of the countries that recognised the spirit of this new era very early on.
The corvette Contraamiral Roman was described as the most concrete manifestation of the will of two allied nations to jointly build security in the Black Sea and the region. Erdoğan stated: "We value the growing cooperation between Türkiye, Romania and Bulgaria in many areas, particularly in countering naval mines. We hope that this cooperation will further increase in the coming period."
Note
If you have any photos or video footage to support our news story, please share them with us using the information provided on our contact us page.
