Turkey commissioned this weekend the first of six Reis-class submarines it plans to add to its fleet in the coming years, during a ceremony in the Aegean province of Muğla on Saturday attended by Turkish President Tayyip Erdoğan, who reiterated his country’s plans to strengthen Turkey’s naval capabilities in the Eastern Mediterranean.
‘Submarines are primary strategic elements of our naval forces. The TCG Piri Reis, which was commissioned today, is the first of our six submarines to have an air-independent propulsion system,’ Erdoğan was quoted as saying by Turkish media during the ceremony. ‘Our Reis-class submarines have much more advanced equipment than their counterparts in the rest of the world. The Piri Reis submarine is capable of operating for a long time (submerged) without surfacing.’ he added.
The Turkish president also insisted on the vital need for Turkey to maintain a ‘strong and effective navy’ to protect the country’s peace and security, acting both in its territorial waters ‘and in distant regions’, said Erdoğan, who expressed confidence in achieving the goal of launching the design and construction of a submarine with national technology through the MİLGEM project.
‘Another point that should be underlined regarding the Piri Reis submarine is that a large number of Turkish defence industry companies have participated as subcontractors in its construction, and as a result have gained enormous experience for the MİLGEM,’ the Turkish leader stressed. ‘Along with our own Atmaca and Gezgin guided missiles, the TCG Piri Reis will also be equipped with the AKYA torpedo, which has recently proven its effectiveness,’ he added.
A submarine capable of operating at 400 metres depth
The Piri Reis submarine – whose construction began in 2019 – is the first of the new Reis class, which over the course of this decade will provide a total of six modern combat submarines for Turkey’s navy.
Piri Reis submarine characteristics:
Length: 67.6 metres
Beam: 6.3 metres
Draft: 5.8 metres
Height: 13.1 metres (without periscope)
Displacement: 2,013 tons submerged
Crew: 27 persons
Propulsion: 3,900 kW engine, 2 diesel generators, 2 batteries, 2 fuel cells
Surface speed: 10 knots
Submerged speed: 20 knots
Maximum depth: 400 metres
Range: 22,000 km at 6 knots on surface, 780 km at 8 knots underwater
Armament: 8 x 533 mm torpedo tubes, anti-ship missiles
Cost: approx. 2 billion euros per submarine
Built under licence at the Gölcük Naval Shipyard (Kocaeli, northwest Turkey) based on the German Type-214 submarine, it employs combined diesel-electric propulsion using Air-Independent Propulsion (AIP) technology, which allows non-nuclear submarines to operate without surfacing to the surface. Thus, the Piri Reis can carry fuel and supplies to operate autonomously for 84 days without refuelling.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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