On 2nd February 2022, The Grand National Assembly of Turkey, extended the presence of the Turkish Navy in the Gulf of Aden, Arabian Sea, and adjacent seas for one more year. The first bill allowing the Turkish government to deploy Turkish Naval Forces for anti-piracy operations was accepted on 10 February 2009. It was extended... Continue Reading →
Russian Minehunter Georgy Kurbatov Passed Through Istanbul
The Project 12700 Aleksandrit class minehunter Georgy Kurbatov made her inaugural passage through Istanbul this afternoon. She was towed by the Project 22870 class rescue Tug SB-739 Spasatel Vasily Bekh. It was not clear why the mine hunter was towed. One reason is to preserve her engines and not to used unnecessarily. Another reason is... Continue Reading →
Converting LHD Anadolu To A Drone Carrier
Prologue: This article was first published in Defence Turkey Magazine Issue 106. It is not a secret that Turkey intends to operate an aircraft carrier. This desire was made public by President Erdoğan during his speech at the launching ceremony of the frigate TCG Istanbul. The interest of Turkey to operate airplanes from a large... Continue Reading →
FS Auvergne Passed Southbound Through Istanbul
The French warship FS Auvergne made her southbound transit through Istanbul this morning and left the Black Sea. Her northbound passage was on 13 December 2021. During her deployment to the Black Sea, the ship visited Constanta, Romania and Odessa, Ukraine. This was her first Black Sea deployment.
Submarine Search And Rescue Exercise Dynamic Monarch/Kurtaran Has Ended
Dynamic Monarch/Kurtaran 2021, the 11th in a series of NATO sponsored live Submarine Escape and Rescue (SMER) exercises was held 12 to 24 September in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, off the coast of Aksaz, Turkey. I think that the scenarios applied in this year's Dynamic Monarc/Kurtaran exercise are very similar to the scenarios in Kurtaran... Continue Reading →
SNMCMG-2 Entered The Black Sea
Between 20 and 23rd September the Standing NATO Mine Countermeasures Group Two (SNMCMG2) made a port visit in Istanbul. The task force consisting of The flagship ESPS Rayo, Turkish minehunter TCG Edincik and Italian minehunter ITS Viareggio were berthed at the Sarayburnu quay. After this short break, the task force sailed through Istanbul and entered... Continue Reading →
Improved Kilo Class Submarine Stary Oskol Returned Home
Russian improved Kilo class (Project 636.3) submarine Stary Oskol made a northbound passage through Istanbul on 23rd September 2021. This passage was the end of a very long overhaul and operational deployment. She was last seen in Istanbul passing southbound on 25.4.2019. She exited the Black Sea to sail to the Admiralty Shipyard in St.... Continue Reading →
Serial Production Line Qualification Test Of Atmaca Missile
Turkish Navy conducted another live firing of Atmaca anti-ship missile on 18th June 2021. The test was conducted again at the live-fire exercise area off the coast of the Black Sea town Sinop. The last of the Ada class corvettes, TCG Kınalıada had the honour to do testing. At the receiving end of the missile... Continue Reading →
HMS Defender and HNLMS Eversten In Istanbul
Two warships attached to the United Kingdom Carrier Strike Group (UK CSG) has arrived in Istanbul on 8th June for a 5-day port visit. HMS Defender a Type 45 class destroyer and HNLMS Eversten a De Zeven Provinciën class frigate are conducting a visit in Istanbul before proceeding to the Black Sea as advertised by... Continue Reading →
