Turkey’s Gölcük shipyard hosted a keel laying ceremony on February 25 to officially mark the start of construction works on the Turkish Navy’s third Reis-class (Type 214) submarine.
Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım joined the ceremony and performed the ceremonial first weld.
The third submarine will carry the name of Murat Reis, an Ottoman Navy admiral.
Turkey is constructing a fleet of six new Type 214 air-independent propulsion submarines under a contract signed with German ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems in 2009. Construction on the first boat in the class, TCG Piri Reis started in 2015. Technical and financial issues delayed the program by an estimated six years and the first submarine in the class is now expected to be delivered to the navy in 2021.
According to Turkish media reports, the contract value is estimated at around €2,5 billion and includes a high level of local industry participation. Turkish defense contractors are taking part in the delivery of a majority of submarine systems, including new Akya torpedoes, torpedo countermeasures, combat and communication systems and electronic subsystems.
Type 214 submarines are export versions of the Type 212 submarine in service with the navies of Italy and Germany, and soon Norway , and are built or operated by the navies of Greece, Republic of Korea, Portugal and Turkey. They are approximately 65 meters long and reach speeds of 20 knots while submerged.