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TCG Heybeliada (F-511)

2011 MODERN NAVY

History

Corvettes have a place in the world's modern navies because of their small size, ample firepower, and their display of considerable agility to deal with the ever-changing threats encountered on the high seas today. Frigates are usually larger than their coastal patrol boat cousins ??and smaller than a typical frigate (although frigates have blurred the line between frigate and frigate territory recently). They can perform a variety of roles (called "multi-mission") and are often armed to counter air, surface and underwater threats from artillery, missile and torpedo weapons.

These ship types are also equipped with deep-water capabilities, enabling them to operate relatively far from friendly coasts, while having a draft shallow enough for "coastal" (near-shore) operations.

For the Turkish Navy, the Ada class has risen to fulfill the role of frigate. This class stems from the MILGEN ("Milli Gemi" = "National Ship") program, which aims to build a modern surface warship for the Turkish Navy.

With state-of-the-art facilities, systems and weapons, the TCG Heybeliada (F-511) was the class leader when the ship entered service in 2011. Construction of the ship began on 22 January 2007, of which two were completed (as of 2013), three were laid and eight were designated for the Ada class (four frigates will join the MILGEM project in time.). ). TCG Heybeliada takes its name from Heybeliada Island, home to the Turkish Naval Academy, and all ships of this class will follow suit, named after the hands of the Turkish island.

The TCG Heybeliada was built by the shipyard RMK Marine at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard and was officially launched for sea trials on September 27, 2008, and officially commissioned on September 27, 2011. The second ship of this class was the launched TCG Buyukada (F-512).

In 2011, the planned start-up date is August 2013.

The Turkish Navy originally intended to license the A-100 frigate to the German Blohm & Voss design. However, the partnership and Turkish requirements eventually changed when the Turks decided to pursue a locally defined frigate/frigate program to make the country more self-sufficient militarily (also in aircraft, artillery and drone design). similar efforts).

As a result, the new frigates will rely primarily on local industry and engineering to produce the required surface combatants - the end result being the TCG Heybeliada and her projected sister ships.

Heybeliada uses the widely accepted concept of "stealth" in modern ship design - mainly the use of special coatings and closed structures and sides. Many of the handrails and cracks detailed in previous ship designs were largely limited to promoting a cleaner profile and presenting a smaller radar signature.

The exhaust pipes are fully enclosed and kept low in the superstructure to further reduce radar echo, while presenting a flatter side profile along the horizon. The mast is also enclosed and accommodates the available systems and processing centers used by the vessel. The forecastle is tapered at the bow and houses an Italian 76mm OTO Breda deck gun with unobstructed forward and flank firing arcs.

The bridge is located in front of the superstructure and is covered by the aforementioned mast arrangement. Behind the bridge is the midship funnel, and further down is the full-service hangar, which can accommodate a medium transport helicopter and support unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) if required. In addition to shipboard systems, UAVs serve this type of warship by providing reconnaissance operations at sea. The Navy helicopter of choice is the American-built Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk series, a multi-mission platform that has been deployed to multiple navies around the world since the mid-1980s. The aircraft is recovered/launched via the conventional flight deck at the rear (rotor aircraft only).

Rigid-hulled inflatable boats (RHIBs) have dinghy launches located on the sides of the boat and can be used to quickly intercept enemy ships (including pirate ships) or assist rescuers (downed pilots, trapped civilians, etc.). In addition to the 76mm deck weapon, the TCG Heybeliada has (or can be equipped with) a variety of weapons to suit the mission role. These include 8 x Harpoon anti-ship missiles, 2 x 324mm Mk 32 triple torpedo tubes (Mk 46 torpedoes), 21 x RIM-116 Rolling Airframe Missiles (RAM), Mk 41 Vertical Launch System (VLS) and 2 x 12 7s mm Aselsan STAMP (Stable Machine Gun Platform). STAMP systems use laser/infrared/television tracking for more precise acquisitions, either through automatic setup or manual acquisition/transmission.

Lateral rocket launchers are mounted above the hangar doors.

In addition to conventional weapons, TCG Heybeliada deploys high-performance sensor equipment and processing suites for its various pursuit and attack facilities. These include satellite communications (SATCOM), global positioning system (GPS), protected communications data links, SMART-S Mk 2 search radar and G-MSYS (GENESIS) battle management system (CMS) - the latter for control Most onboard systems go through a multiprocessing kit.

X-band and fire control radars are also standard equipment, mounted on the mast. Crews can invoke the ARES-2N for encrypted signals intelligence (SIGINT) and use a variety of jammers and decoys to repel any potential or active threat from the air, surface or bottom launch.

The Heybeliada has a displacement of approximately 2,500 tons, a bow-stern length of 99.5 meters, a beam of 14 meters and a draft of 3.9 meters. Propulsion is via a CODAG (Combined Diesel and Gas) unit consisting of 1 gas turbine and 2 diesel engines driving 2 shafts rated at 40,200 hp. This gives the vessel an optimum speed of 30 knots in ideal conditions (approximately 15 knots in normal cruising) and a range of 3,500 nautical miles (approximately 4,000 miles).

The vessel can stay without resupply for up to ten days, which can then be increased to twenty-one days with regular resupply/bunkering operations at sea. Her entire crew (including the Air Squadron) is listed as 93 personnel, while the ship has wartime/humanitarian housing for up to 106 people.