The Defense Industry Department of the Republic of Turkey (SSB) has announced the start of construction of the STM500 attack submarine for the country's Navy. The model was developed by the Turkish company Savunma Teknolojileri ve Mühendislik (STM).
The submarine is reportedly designed to operate both in coastal waters and on the high seas and perform a wide range of tactical operations, including reconnaissance, special forces operations and mine warfare.
The first stage of construction of the ship began in June 2022. Currently, the project is at the stage of testing the pressure housing.
Design features of the STM500 attack submarine
According to the project, the STM500 attack submarine has a total length of 42 m, a draft along the waterline of 4.2 m and a maximum width of 8.5 m. Her underwater displacement will be 540 tons, her surface displacement will be 485 tons.
The ship is planned to be equipped with advanced combat systems. The submarine will be able to reach a maximum speed of more than 18 knots and a cruising speed of 5 knots. It will be able to dive at a depth of more than 250 m and maintain autonomy for 30 days. The number of the crew is 18 people, which can be supplemented by more than six members of the special forces group.
Functionally, the submarine will be able to launch unmanned (uninhabited) aerial, surface or underwater vehicles.
The design of the STM500 provides for the presence of a commander's cabin, a galley, a dry food warehouse, a freezer and separate cabins for crew members.
Turkish Navy STM500 Attack Submarine DesignWeapons and armament of the STM500[/b]
The ammunition of the submarine will total eight heavy torpedoes and guided missiles, for which four torpedo tubes are designed, including two for firing guided missiles. The combat crew provides for the constant charging of two torpedoes and two missiles. The remaining torpedoes and missiles are placed in the payload storage.
For the STM500 attack submarine, the Turkish defense contractor, Roketsan will provide its new generation heavy torpedoes AKYA and a variant of the ATMACA anti-ship missile.
Radio equipment[/b]
The STM500 attack submarine will be equipped with a navigation radar, optoelectronic search and assault periscopes, means of countering torpedo attacks (baits) and an electronic support antenna (EW).
On board, it is also planned to install a continuous active sonar station (GAS), GAS with a towed antenna array, passive (passive ranging sonar, PRS) and multi-aperture GAS, as well as GAS detection and detection of interception range (IDRS) and self-noise analysis (ONA).
The processing of the information collected by the GAS will be carried out by its own combat control system.
Engine and propulsion[/b]
The power supply system of the STM500 attack submarine includes two diesel generators and two lithium-ion batteries. Its main propulsion system is powered by a 1.5 MW constant-excitation main engine (slightly more than 2000 hp). Optional installation of an additional air-independent propulsion system (AIP) is provided.
When using diesel, the ship's power reserve will be 3,500 nautical miles, batteries – 75 nautical miles and 4,000 nautical miles when using a combination of diesel and AIP.
According to the materials of the resource naval-technology.com
