Turkey issues bids for new SSKs, torpedoes

Sea Power, Dec 1998

The Turkish Naval Forces Command is seeking bids for four new diesel electric submarines (SSKs) as followons to the Turkish Navy's Prevezeclass boats, which were built to the German IKL Type 209/1400 design, When the command issued a Request for Information (RFI) two years ago it was assumed to be little more than a formality in a request for additional credits to build more Preveze-class SSKs, but rising tension with Greece since then has led to demands for ships built to a more modern design. The IKL Type 209 series has been in production for over two decades, and there are signs that it is now close to its limit of "stretch."

Despite earlier reports that an order for four more Preveze-class boats had been placed in Germany last July, negotiations with the German Submarine Consortium that reportedly have been in progress for some time would allow Turkey to acquire SSKs incorporating some of the advanced features of the German Navy's new Type 212 boats. With Golcuk Naval Shipyard already building the Prevezeclass SSKs, the level of technology transfer needed to move to a more advanced design would be comparatively straightforward-although it may prove cheaper in the long run, some analysts say, to build the new boats in Germany.

A separate competition to select a new torpedo for the Turkish Navy was opened some time ago. Among the original contenders were the STN Atlas Elektronik DM2A3 and DM2A4, GEC Marconi's Tigerfish (Mod 2 or Mod 3) and Spearfish (Mod 3), and Eurotorp's A-184 and F17 (Mod 2). The list of bidders has since been reduced to a shortlist of three: the Tigerfish Mod 3, the A-184, and the DM2A4. The Preveze-class boats currently are armed with the Tigerfish Mod 2.

Related Note: The Preveze-class SSKs are being refitted with an STN Atlas Elektronik flank sonar array, selected in preference to a more-orless equivalent system from Thomson Marconi Sonar. The choice was made easier by the fact that the submarines were designed for the German system. In the first six months of this year Germany sold Turkey military equipment worth an estimated $265 million.