The corvette will showcase the Turkish Navy’s capabilities and promote the country’s domestic platforms and systems.
To commemorate the 100th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and Japan and 134 years since the tragic incident of the frigate Ertugrul off the coast of Japan, the Turkish Navy’s fourth and last Ada-class corvette, TCG Kinaliada (F-514), is scheduled to leave Turkey on April 8 and arrive in Japan on June 8. However, before sailing for Japan, the corvette arrived in Hong Kong on May 30 for replenishment. The Turkish Navy held a press conference the following day.
Commander of TCG Kinaliada, Gen. Serkan Dogan (left), Consul General of the Republic of Turkey in Hong Kong, Kerim Serkan Evcin (center), and Turkish military attache to China, Col. Kahn Gülerce. Photo by Curtis Lee.
The Ertugrul was a frigate from the Ottoman Empire that set sail in July 1889, carrying over 600 crew members on a goodwill visit to Japan in return for Prince Komatsu’s visit to Istanbul. After a year of sailing, it finally arrived in Japan in June 1980, but on the return journey in September, the Ertugrul encountered a violent typhoon, killing all but 69 crew members. The Japanese Navy at the time escorted the survivors of the Ertugrul to Istanbul with two frigates, the Hiei and the Kongo. A monument was also erected on Oshima Island in Japan to commemorate this tragic accident and the friendship between the two countries.
At the press conference, Kerim Sercan Evcin, Consulate General of the Republic of Turkey in Hong Kong, emphasized the importance of TCG Kinaliada’s expansion into Asia, saying it reflects the capabilities and achievements of the Turkish defense industry over the past 20 years, as the country’s defense industry reduces its dependence on foreign defense demand from 80% to 20%.
The Aselsan STAMP remote weapon station console aboard the TCG Kinaliada. STAMP is another Turkish indigenous weapon system aboard the corvette. Photo by Curtis Lee.
As the last ship of its class, TCG Kinaliada marks many firsts with a number of indigenous systems being implemented for the first time on this modern platform. The corvette is the first of its class to replace the US-made RGM-84L Harpoon anti-ship missile with the indigenous ATMACA, a subsonic, sea-skimming anti-ship missile with high resistance to countermeasures and an advanced pre-flight and in-flight mission planning system jointly developed by the Turkish Naval Research Center Command and Roketsan. This advanced indigenous missile will be installed on the remaining Ada-class corvettes, future Istanbul-class frigates, and future TF2000 anti-aircraft combat destroyers.
One of the Aselsan STAMP remote weapon stations aboard the TCG Kinariada. Photo by Curtis Lee.
TCG Kinaliada is also the first ship to be equipped with the ADVENT Combat Management System, an indigenously developed advanced integrated command and control system developed by HAVELSAN. It is force-focused and provides network-enabled capabilities, force-wide threat assessment, and multi-platform engagement planning and execution. ADVENT will be installed on several Turkish surface combatants and support vessels as well as on ships exported to Ukraine, Malaysia, Indonesia and Qatar.
