Turkey to Launch Intelligence Collection Ship ‘A-591 Ufuk’ on January 14

Turkey’s Naval Forces Command will receive the country’s first domestically developed intelligence collection ship A-591 Ufuk on January 14.

The delivery ceremony to be held in Istanbul Shipyard is expected to be attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, local media reported.

The 99.5m-long A-591 Ufuk corvette was launched by manufacturer STM in February 2019. It was developed as part of the broader domestic ship design and development project MILGEM (National Ship) – under the scope of which four corvettes were delivered to the navy and a frigate was launched.

Ufuk has a beam of 14.4m, a 10-ton flight deck and can reach a maximum speed of 18 knots. It can cruise continuously for 45 days in international waters and under severe climate and sea conditions.

The vessel is tailored to be used in signal and electronic intelligence missions (SIGINT/ELINT) as well as meeting the test and training vessel requirements of the Turkish navy.

Aselsan has fitted the Ufuk with command control, electronic systems, test and training system equipment.