15 Aug 2021 at the Turkish naval shipyard in Istanbul (Istanbul Naval Shipyard), in addition to the ceremony of descent to water of the first Corvette of the Turkish MILGEM project (such as Ada), being built for Pakistan Navy, in the presence of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan also held the ceremony of the first cutting of steel and the start of construction for the Turkish Navy patrol ship of the head of a new type of Akhisar.
Project image of a new type of patrol ship Akhisar (c) under construction for the Turkish Navy www.savunmasanayist.com
In his speech at the ceremony, Turkish President Erdogan said that a total of 10 maritime patrol ships of this type will be built for the Turkish Navy, and that the lead ship will be handed over to the command of the Turkish Navy in May 2023.
In November 2020, the Turkish Military Industry Administration SSB issued a contract to the Turkish association of state shipyards ASFAT and specifically the Istanbul Naval Shipyard for the construction of the first two patrol ships of a new type, the lead of which Akhisar was started construction on August 15.
It is reported that the project of the Akhisar type patrol ship was developed on the basis of the project of the Turkish MILGEM corvette (Ada type), differing mainly in the simplified composition of weapons and electronic equipment. The armament of the patrol ship should include a 76-mm Leonardo Super Rapid universal artillery installation (or its Turkish copy), two remotely controlled small-caliber artillery installations manufactured by Aselsan, as well as a Sikorsky S-70 (T-70) helicopter with permanent basing in a hangar, and the basing of unmanned aerial vehicles is also provided. It is possible to place several containers with a special target load. There are three fast-launching semi-rigid motor boats, including one with a slip in the aft part of the ship. The power plant of the patrol ship is purely diesel two-shaft, the autonomy will be 21 days.
