Ada-class corvette

The Ada class is a class of corvettes, a part of the MILGEM project, developed primarily for the Turkish Navy. The Turkish Navy has already commissioned all four Ada-class corvettes, and more are scheduled to enter into service in due course.

TCG Heybeliada
Class overview
Name: Ada class
Builders: Istanbul Naval Shipyard
Operators: Turkish Navy
Subclasses: Istanbul-class frigate
Built: 2005–2019
In service: 2011–present
Planned: 4
Completed: 4
Active: 4
General characteristics
Type: Patrol and anti-submarine warfare[1] Corvette→
Displacement: 2,400 tonnes
Length: 99.56 m (326 ft 8 in)
Beam: 14.40 m (47 ft 3 in)
Draft: 3.90 m (12 ft 10 in)
Installed power:
  • Main: 31,640 kW (42,430 hp) RENK CODAG
  • Aux: 4 x 588 kW (789 hp)
Propulsion: 1 gas turbine, 2 diesels, 2 shafts
Speed:
  • Economy: 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
  • Maximum: 30 kn (56 km/h; 35 mph)
Range: 3,500 nmi (6,500 km; 4,000 mi) at 15 kn (28 km/h; 17 mph)
Endurance:
  • 21 days with logistic support
  • 10 days autonomous
Boats & landing
craft carried:		 2 x RHIB
Complement: 93 including aviation officers, with accommodation up to 106
Sensors and
processing systems:
  • Combat Management System: G-MSYS (GENESIS MİLGEM Savaş Yönetim Sistemi)
  • Search radar: SMART-S Mk2[2]
  • Weapon control: STING EO Mk2
  • Sonar: TBT-01 Yakamoz
  • Communication: SatCom, GPS, LAN, ECDIS/WECDIS, Link 11/16
  • Navigation: ECPINS-W, ALPER LPI
  • IPMS: UniMACS 3000
  • Others: X-Band radar, Fire Control Radar
Electronic warfare
& decoys:
  • SIGINT: ARES-2N[3]
  • Others: Laser/RF systems, ASW jammers, DG, SSTD
Armament:
  • Guns:
  • 1 × 76 mm (3 in) OtoMelara Super Rapid (retractable for lower radar cross section, guidance by fire control radar and electro-optical systems), A position
  • 2 × 12.7 mm (0.50 in) ASELSAN STAMP Stabilized Machine Gun Platform (guidance by Laser/IR/TV and electro-optical systems, automatic and manual modes), B position
  • Anti-ship missiles:
  • 8 ×Harpoon or Atmaca
  • Anti-aircraft missiles:
  • 21 × RAM Block I
  • Torpedoes:
  • 2 × 324 mm (13 in) Mk.32 triple launchers for Mk.46 torpedoes
  • Torpedo Defence System:
  • Sea Sentor Surface Ship Torpedo Defense System
Aircraft carried:
  • Hangar and platform for:
  • S-70B Seahawk ASW helicopters
  • Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV)
Aviation facilities: Capability of storing armaments, 20 tons of JP-5 aircraft fuel, aerial refueling (HIRF) and maintenance systems

Development

The design objective of the Ada class is to build a modern littoral combat ship, with indigenous anti-submarine warfare and high-seas patrol capabilities, while extensively using the principles of stealth technology in its design.[1]

According to the Ada class acquisition model, Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) signed R&D contracts for the two prototype ships, which are considered to be testing platforms. This being an open-end project, the 1st and 2nd ships of the class were expected to be slightly different in terms of vessel design and system configuration. The subsequent vessels, scheduled to be built by private shipyards, would have a more optimized design and configuration.[4]

In September 2013, then Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced that the Ada class was to be temporarily put on hold after the completion of the first two corvettes by the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, and that the bid won by RMK Marine to build six more corvettes was canceled. This was reported because the other shipbuilders complained about the bidding process. He added that a new bidding process would take place.[5]

The first four ships of the class, TCG Heybeliada, TCG Büyükada , TCG Burgazada ,and TCG Kınalıada were built by the Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command. The construction works of the first Ada-class corvette Heybeliada began on July 26, 2005. TCG Heybeliada was launched with a ceremony on September 27, 2008, that was attended by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Prime Minister of Turkey. On November 2, 2010, Heybeliada started undergoing sea acceptance trials before being officially commissioned.[6][7] Heybeliada entered navy service on September 27, 2011.[8] The cost of the Heybeliada was around US$260 million.[9]

The production of the second ship of the class, TCG Büyükada, commenced on September 27, 2008. Büyükada was expected to incorporate weapon systems with notable performance, such as the ASELSAN air-search radar. Büyükada was launched on September 27, 2011 and underwent sea acceptance trials before it was officially commissioned on September 27, 2013. The construction of TCG Burgazada commenced on December 17, 2014. The ship was launched in June 2016 and commissioned on November 4, 2018.[10] Turkish Naval Forces Command (TNFC) received its fourth and last Ada-class (Milgem) anti-submarine warfare corvette, TCG Kinaliada (F 514) on 29 September 2019, at a commissioning ceremony held at Istanbul Naval Shipyard.[11]

On 4 November 2019, the Turkish Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) announced that the Turkish Navy's TCG Kinaliada, a MILGEM Ada-class anti-submarine warfare (ASW) corvette, successfully test-fired an Atmaca anti-ship cruising missile (ASCM). This missile will replace the inventory of Harpoon (ASM) by 2022.[12]

Design

The ships are propelled by a RENK CODAG Cross-Connect propulsion plant. It consists of a gas turbine rated at 23,000 kilowatts (31,000 hp) and two diesel engines rated at 4,320 kW (5,790 hp). Each diesel engine drives one controllable pitch propeller via a two-speed main reduction gear. The cross-connect gear splits the power from the gas turbine via both main reduction gears to the two shafts. The ship can be operated in Diesel mode, in single gas turbine mode, or in CODAG mode. CODAG is where diesel and gas turbine engines are providing combined power (27,320 kW).

The design concept and mission profile of the Ada-class corvette bears similarities with the Freedom-class littoral combat ship developed by Lockheed Martin, as the first member of the next generation of U.S. Navy warships. The Ada-class corvettes are more heavily armed, and are equipped with more capable radar and sonar systems. The Freedom-class has a higher speed and variable mission modules.[13]

GENESIS (Gemi Entegre Savaş İdare Sistemi, i.e., Ship Integrated Combat Management System), a network-centric warfare management system developed by HAVELSAN and initially used in the upgraded G-class frigates of the Turkish Navy, was contracted for the first two Ada-class corvettes on May 23, 2007.[14][15] In last Ada-class corvette Kınalıada (F-514) ADVENT combat management system (Upgraded version of GENESIS) is installed instead of GENESIS system, also Burgazada (F-513) planned to be retrofited with ADVENT combat management system.[16] The MİLGEM project warships have indigenous hull-mounted sonar developed by the Scientific and Technological Research Foundation of Turkey.[17] The sonar has been developed and produced by STM's subcontractor ONUK-BG Defence Systems, extensively employing nano-enhanced Fiber Reinforced Polymer.[18] The Ada class features an Electronic Chart Precise Integrated Navigation System (ECPINS), supplied by OSI Geospatial.[19] Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS), delivered by STM's subcontractor Yaltes JV, monitors and controls machinery, auxiliary systems, electrical power generation, and distribution. The main systems integrated in IPMS include a power management system, fire detection system, fire fighting, damage control system, CCTV system and stability control system.[20]

Naming

The Ada means island in Turkish, as each individual ship of the class is given the name of a Turkish island, in particular the Prince Islands in the Sea of Marmara to the southeast of Istanbul. The lead ship of the class, TCG Heybeliada, is named after Heybeliada Island, where the Turkish Naval High School is located.

Ships in the class
Pennant no. Name Namesake Builder Laid down Launched Commissioned Status
F-511 Heybeliada Heybeliada Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command 26 July 2005 27 September 2008 27 September 2011 Active
F-512 Büyükada Büyükada Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command 27 September 2008 27 September 2011 27 September 2013 Active
F-513 Burgazada Burgazada Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command 17 December 2014 21 June 2016 4 November 2018 Active
F-514 Kınalıada Kinaliada Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command 8 October 2015[21] 3 July 2017 29 September 2019 Active

Export

On July 5, 2018, Pakistani military's ISPR announced that a Turkish firm had won the tender to build four MILGEM corvettes for the Pakistan Navy. Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli described the deal as “the largest defense export of Turkey in one agreement.”[22] By September 2018, some details have emerged that corvettes for Pakistan Navy will have CODAD propulsion system instead of CODAG, thus increasing sea endurance from 10 to 15 days. The first vessel is planned to be constructed in 54 months, and the remaining ships will be constructed in 60, 66, and 72 months, respectively.[23] During IDEAS 2018, Pakistan Navy officials stated that under the agreement, the fourth ship will be entirely designed and constructed in Pakistan, which will become the first Jinnah-class frigate. This strengthens the idea that the fourth ship will spur a new line of frigates.[24] Coinciding with the commissioning ceremony of TCG Kınalıada attended by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, the steel cutting ceremony for the first MILGEM ship for the Pakistan Navy was also held there on September 29, 2019.[25]

gollark: You do not need the brackets.
gollark: It was designed to allow variable-sized metadata blocks instead of the fixed 8192B of before, which in retrospect was not hugely useful, so the start/end are how far *after the metadata region* each thing is.
gollark: Something like `{"tracks": [{"title": "bee movie full soundtrack", "start": 0, "end": 600000}] }`, while odd-looking, is valid JSON.
gollark: All the parser implementations around should accept that as valid, and you can use a fixed amount of size.
gollark: Okay, very hacky but technically workable: have an XTMF metadata block of a fixed size, and after the actual JSON data, instead of just ending it with a `}`, have enough spaces to fill up the remaining space then a `}`.

See also

References
  1. Patrol and Anti-Submarine Warfare Ship (MILGEM- Milli Gemi – National Ship) Project, SSM, Turkey
  2. Turkish Navy purchases Thales sensors, Thales Netherlands, 19 December 2007
  3. ARES-2N (Turkey), Naval Signals Intelligence (SIGINT), electronic support and threat-warning systems, Jane's Radar And Electronic Warfare Systems, 3 February 2011
  4. Acquisition of Design Services and Platform Construction and Outfitting Equipment for MILGEM Project Prototype Ship and Second Ship, SSM, Turkey, Retrieved 6 December 2010
  5. "Koç'un aldığı o ihale yenilenecek". Hürriyet (in Turkish). 2013-09-27. Retrieved 2013-09-27.
  6. (in Turkish) Newsletter about TCG Heybeliada, Turkish Navy, 12 November 2010
  7. First Turkish MILGEM begins sea trials, Richard Scott, IHS Jane's, 22 November 2010
  8. (in Turkish) Newsletter about TCG Heybeliada, Turkish Navy, 27 September 2011
  9. Turkiyenin urettigi ilk savas gemisi Heybeliada seyirde, Umit Kozan, 12 November 2010
  10. https://navaltoday.com/2018/11/05/turkish-navy-commissions-third-milgem-corvette-tcg-burgazada/
  11. https://www.janes.com/article/91620/turkish-navy-receives-fourth-and-last-milgem-corvette
  12. "Turkey Test Fires Atmaca Anti-Ship Missile from MILGEM Corvette". Quwa. 2019-11-12. Retrieved 2019-11-13.
  13. Milgem Class Multimission Corvettes, Turkey, Naval Technology, Retrieved 6 December 2010
  14. MILGEM Project, GENESIS Combat Management System Archived 2009-04-24 at the Wayback Machine, Havelsan, Retrieved 6 December 2010
  15. Havelsan advances MILGEM integration, Jane's IDEX 2011 exhibition news, Retrieved 25 February 2011
  16. "ADVENT COMBAT MANAGEMENT SYSTEM". Defence Turkey.
  17. Indigenous Sonar Wet-End System Production and Integration Project, SSM, Turkey
  18. MİLGEM Corvette Sonar Dome Archived 2012-01-17 at the Wayback Machine, Onuk-BG Defence Systems, Turkey
  19. OSI Geospatial Selected by the Turkish Navy to Provide W-ECPINS for the MILGEM Corvette New Build Program Archived 2012-03-15 at the Wayback Machine, OSI Geospatial News Release, 4 June 2009
  20. YALTES MILGEM IPMS Project, Yaltes JV, Retrieved 6 December 2010
  21. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 2017-01-06. Retrieved 2017-01-05.CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  22. "Turkish Firm Wins Tender to Build Four Corvettes for Pakistan Navy". www.defenseworld.net. Retrieved 2018-07-05.
  23. "T129 ATAK Helicopters and ADA Class Corvettes Sale to Pakistan". www.defenceturkey.com. Retrieved 2018-09-11.
  24. "IDEAS 2018: PAKISTAN NAVY MILGEM CORVETTE". Quwa.org. 6 December 2018. Retrieved 7 December 2018.
  25. "Ship enters navy, Pak-bound ship being built". Anadolu Agency. 29 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
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