Turkey-made Ukrainian navy corvettes to be built in Okean shipyard

Corvettes will be produced for the Ukrainian Navy using Turkish technologies at the Okean shipyard in the Ukrainian city of Mykolaiv, the shipyard said in a statement Monday.

The statement said that within the scope of military cooperation agreements signed in October and on Dec. 14 between the two countries, a memorandum was signed with Turkey's Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) to produce corvettes for the Ukrainian Navy.

The shipyard was chosen by the presidency after taking into consideration its specifications and qualified personnel, it added.

Along with buying unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) from Turkey, Ukraine decided to strengthen its navy with Turkey’s MILGEM (National Ship) Ada-class corvettes.

Under the procurement deal, Ukraine aims to strengthen its navy to boost security in the Black Sea and the Sea of Azov.

The Ada-class corvette can carry out the determination, location, classification, identification and destruction of air, surface and underwater targets as well as provide naval gunfire support.

In addition to avoiding any potential threats, MILGEM anti-submarine combat frigates, which have advance radar-evading technologies can perform maritime operations such as maritime surveillance and patrols, coastal and infrastructure protection and the supervision and surveillance of exclusive economic zones (EEZs).

Ankara initiated the MILGEM project to locally design and build a fleet of multipurpose corvettes and frigates that will replace older ships. A total of four corvettes have joined the Turkish navy’s inventory so far while Istanbul Frigate, the first vessel of Turkey's I-class frigates that are based on the project is scheduled for September 2023.

Ukraine’s Okean (Ocean) Shipyard which is located in Mykolaiv province is the third major ship construction yard in the area. It operates modern production facilities supplied by world-known companies, and it has a medium and heavy tonnage production line.