SUBMARINES MODERNIZED WITH INDIGENOUS AND NATIONAL SYSTEMS
STM COMPLETES SYSTEM ACCEPTANCE TESTS OF TCG PREVEZE
STM ASSIGNED CRITICAL TASK IN GÜR-CLASS SUBMARINE PROJECT
The acceptance trials of critical systems delivered by STM under the PREVEZE-YÖM project for the modernization of four Preveze-Class Submarines have been successfully completed. STM has further taken on the platform integration of the Advent-Müren Combat Management System aboard Gür-Class Submarines.
STM Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik ve Ticaret A.Ş. – a leading light in the Turkish defence sector operating under the direction of the Defence Industry Agency (SSB) that is a major contributor to the national technology initiative – is continuing in its efforts to equip the Turkish Naval Forces Command with national systems.
STM has completed two significant steps in the ongoing Preveze-Class and Gür-Class submarine projects, which are the backbone of the Turkish Submarine Fleet.
The Preveze-Class Submarine Half-life Modernisation (PREVEZE-YÖM) Project, initiated by the SSB, has passed yet another notable milestone. Following the successful sea acceptance trials of the Inertial Navigation System, CTD Probes, Cooled Water Systems and Static Inverters, required to be delivered after the design stages, in 2022 under the PREVEZE-YÖM project for the modernization of four Preveze-Class (S-353) Submarines, STM received the approval of the SSB on 2 March 2023.
The Half-life Modernisation Project of Preveze-Class Submarines covers the modernisation of the TCG Preveze (S-353), TCG Sakarya (S-354), TCG 18 Mart (S-355) and TCG Anafartalar (S-356) submarines in the inventory of Naval Forces Command. STM has been serving as the main partner in the project since signing a contract on 8 February, 2019, and is currently engaged in activities as the responsible party for the supply of nine systems and platform integration works under the Project.
STM signed a contract with TÜBİTAK Bilgem on 28 February, 2023 under which it will carry out the platform integration of the Advent-Müren Combat Management System aboard Gür-Class Submarines. TÜBİTAK Bilgem and Naval Forces Command signed a protocol on 5 December 2022 for the Advent-Müren Combat Management System and AKYA Integration project for Gür-Class Submarines.
Preveze- and Ay-class submarines that have been equipped with the MÜREN Combat Management System have now been provided with the national torpedo AKYA firing capability. Under a contract signed between TÜBİTAK Bilgem and Naval Forces Command, Gür-Class submarines will be provided with this capability and modernized with the indigenous combat management system, which can be thought of as the brain of submarines.
Özgür GÜLERYÜZ, General Manager of STM, stating that STM had achieved many groundbreaking projects in Türkiye related to the design, construction and modernization of submarines, said:
“Our qualified workforce and technologies allow us to carry out significant projects related to the submarine platforms of the Turkish Navy, and those of friendly and allied nations. Among these is the PREVEZE-YÖM Project, under which we have successfully completed the acceptance tests of four systems. We have now signed a new contract with TÜBİTAK BİLGEM to transfer the engineering experience gained in the Ay- and Preveze-Class submarine modernization projects to Gür-Class submarines.
We will continue our activities and efforts to increase the ability of the Turkish Naval Forces to act as a deterrent in the Blue Homeland. I hope that our projects will be beneficial to Naval Forces Command and to all of our stakeholders.”
As part of its design, construction and modernisation activities, STM is producing indigenous and flexible engineering solutions for the surface and submarine platforms of the Turkish Navy, and those of friendly and allied nations, aiming to address specific needs and ensure more effective mission performance.
Undertaking crucial tasks in the submarine modernisation and construction projects of the Turkish Navy, STM successfully completed the modernisation of two Ay-class submarines in its role as main contractor in 2015. Continuing its system supply and platform integration activities as a pilot partner in the modernisation of four Preveze-class submarines, STM has also been serving since 2016 as the main contractor in the modernisation of the French-made Agosta 90B Khalid-class submarines owned by Pakistan. Deliveries of the first two submarines in the Agosta 90B Modernisation project have been completed, and STM is continuing the modernisation works on the third submarine in Pakistan.
STM is also undertaking important tasks in the New-Type Submarine Project (Reis Class) Project for the construction of submarines equipped with air-independent propulsion systems (AIP). STM has successfully carried out integration design, engineering and system integration activities on the Turkish Navy's latest modern submarine design – the Reis-Class submarine – and has indigenized the construction of the bow, or "Section 50", which houses the submarine torpedo tubes (main weapons), being a component that can only be produced by a few countries in the world, and has delivered it as part of the Project.
Furthermore, the small-sized STM500 submarine that has been designed by STM engineers using national resources entered the pressure hull testing and production phase in June 2022, and STM is also continuing its R&D activities into unmanned surface and submarine vessels.
