Turkish state-owned shipbuilding company RMK Marine launched the first MilGem (Ada)-class corvette for the Ukrainian Navy, Hetman Ivan Mazepa (F 211), at its shipyard in Tuzla, Constantinople, on October 2, the Presidential Office of Ukraine stated in a press release.

The launch ceremony was attended by the First Lady of Ukraine, Olena Zelenska, Defence Minister, Oleksii Reznikov, and Commander of the Ukrainian Navy, Oleksiy Neyizhpapa. According to the Ukrainian Defence Minister, the ship’s home port will be in Sevastopol, Crimea.

The Ada-class is a category of anti-submarine corvettes, developed primarily for the Turkish Navy during the first stage of the MILGEM project and are capable of carrying out various missions including patrol in the open sea and anti-submarine warfare (ASW) operations. The Turkish Navy has commissioned all four Ada-class corvettes.

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The warship in question is being built by RMK Marine under an agreement, which was signed by the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence and the Turkish Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) for an initial batch of two corvettes in December 2020. Turkish engineering company STM has overall responsibility for the program.

In fact, the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence has ordered 2 corvettes which will be jointly developed by the Turkish STM and Ukrainian shipyard. Under the deal, the first vessel will be delivered to Ukraine by the end of 2023 unfinished, to then be completed in Ukraine. The $256 million deal was signed in December 2020.

Its technical characteristics include:

• Displacement: 2,400 tonnes
• Length: 99.56 meters
• Beam: 14.40 meters
• Draft: 3.90 m
• Propulsion system: Combined diesel and gas (CODAG) with 1 gas turbine and 2 diesel engines
• Propulsion: 1 gas turbine, 2 diesels, 2 shafts
• Maximum speed: 56 km/h
• Maximum operational range: 6,500 km
• Endurance: 21 days with logistic support / 10 days autonomous
• Crew: 93 with accommodation up to 106
• Hangar for S-70B Seahawk ASW helicopters and Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAVs)

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Further, its main armament includes:

• 76 mm Oto Melara Super Rapid 
• 2 remote-controlled Aselsan STAMP-type (Stabilized Machine Gun Platform)  weapon systems with 12.7 mm heavy machine gun
• 8 Harpoon or ATMACA anti-ship missiles
• 1 RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missile close-in weapon system (CIWS) 
• 2 twin 324mm torpedo tubes for Mk 46 torpedoes

Furthermore, the said warship features GENESIS (Gemi Entegre Savaş İdare Sistemi), a network-centric combat management system developed by HAVELSAN.

Also, this class of ships has an indigenous hull-mounted sonar developed by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey and a radar-type SMART-S Mk2 developed by ASELSAN.

Lastly, the Ada class features an Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System (ECPINS), supplied by OSI Geospatial as well as an Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) for controlling machinery, auxiliary systems, power generation, and distribution delivered by STM’s subcontractor Yaltes JV.

The main systems integrated into IPMS are power management, fire detection, fire fighting, damage control, CCTV, and stability control systems.

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