Turkey, Germany To Sign Submarine Deal
ANKARA (A.A) - 02.07.2009 - Turkey is set to sign an agreement Thursday with Germany to build six submarines for the Turkish Naval Forces, said a statement issued by the German Embassy in Ankara.
The deal covers six Class-214 air-independent propulsion (AIP) submarines by Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW), a part of the ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems shipbuilding group, the statement said.
The new class submarines will improve significantly the capability of the Turkish Naval Forces to undertake longer under water operations, the statement said.
A signing ceremony is scheduled today which will gather senior Turkish and German government officials, and naval forces commanders.
Turkish Defence Industries Undersecretariat has said the submarines would be co-produced with maximum local content at Golcuk Naval Shipyard in Kocaeli, Turkey.
Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul has also stated that Turkish industrial participation in the project would be worth around 80 percent of the total value of the deal.
As the Turkish Type 214 will have a significant amount of Turkish indigenous systems on board, this variant of the Type 214 will be known as the Type 214TN (Turkish Navy).
HDW will preassemble structural and mechanical parts of the submarine in Germany, or classified elements such as the fuel cells and propulsion system and will then ship them to Turkey.
All electronic and weapon systems, including sensors, communications, and data processing systems, will be of Turkish design and production.
http://www.militarium.eu/article.aspx?ID=2646
