German shipbuilder TKMS has handed over its second air independent propulsion (AIP) submarine to the Turkish Navy.
As per its press statement, the new boat TCG Hizirreis was delivered by the Golcuk Naval Shipyard (GNSY) simultaneously to both the navy and Turkiye’s procurement agency, Savunma Sanayii Baskanligi (SSB) in ceremony at Golcuk yesterday (Thursday).
TKMS has a €2 billion contract to build six of the Reis-class submarines for the Turkish Navy. The first boat, TCG Pirireis, was handed over in October 2024; the third, Muratreis, was launched in May this year and is set to be delivered within the next 12 months.
The hulls of the three other boats — Aydinreis, Seydialireis, and Semanreis — have all been laid down; they are scheduled to be delivered between now and 2029. All six boats are named after 16th-century Ottoman Navy admirals.
The diesel-electric boats are being built under licence and are based on the Type 214 submarines developed for export by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW), which was acquired by TKMS in 2005.
The submarines are about 68 metres long, and 6m wide and deep; they displace 1,860 tonnes submerged, have a crew of 27, an 84-day endurance and a range of about 12,000 nautical miles and a top speed submerged of about 20 knots.
The Turkish vessels feature a high proportion of domestically produced equipment on board, including all electronics and weapons systems.
As per the TKMS statement, representatives of the SSB, the GNSY shipyard, the Turkish Navy, and TKMS attended the official handover ceremony.
Executive Vice President of Submarines at TKMS Christian Rogge commented: “All parties involved have shown a high level of commitment and willingness to cooperate since the start of the project – this is the only way to realize projects of this scope within the set time and cost framework.”
- You can read more details on the TKMS website