ASFAT, a fully state-owned company under the authority of the Turkish National Defense Ministry, has announced that it has signed an agreement for the delivery of the light corvette Akhisar to the Romanian Navy.
Features of the Akhisar Ship
The Akhisar, a light corvette or offshore patrol vessel (OPV), was sold to Romania for approximately 220 million euros. It weighs around 2300 tonnes, is 99.56 meters long, and has a maximum width of 14.42 meters, while its draft is 3.77 meters.
The ship’s propulsion architecture is CODLOD (COmbined Diesel-eLectric Or Diesel), based on four diesel engines and two electric motors complemented by four diesel generators.
The Akhisar has a crew of about 100 sailors and can reach a maximum speed of 24 knots, a cruising speed of 12 knots, and has a range of about 4500 nautical miles or up to 21 days at sea.
The Akhisar is equipped with a flight deck for the operations of a 10-tonne-class helicopter (S-70) and a UAV. Onboard the unit, there are two rigid inflatables of 7.5 and 5.5 meters for maritime police and support operations.
Electronic Suite and Armament
The Turkish unit is equipped with a HAVELSAN ADVENT SYS combat management system that collects data from a 3D search radar, fire control radar, infrared search and tracking system, and a navigation radar.
The corvette also has a hull sonar, an electro-optical search system (EO/IR), and an electronic support system (ESM).
In Romania, the armament will be altered and reinforced with the embarkation of Kongsberg’s Naval Strike Missiles (NSMs); ASFAT will provide replacement parts and train Romanian personnel for the operation and maintenance of the ship.
At the moment, the unit launched in 2023 for the Turkish Navy as an OPV is armed with an MKE 76/62 mm cannon and two ASELSAN remote weapon stations equipped with 12.7×99 mm machine guns.
In the complete version as a HISAR-class light corvette, the armament also includes a 35 mm Gökdeniz CIWS, eight vertical Hisar-D RF air defense missile launchers, eight ATMACA anti-ship missiles, and a Roketsan ASW rocket launcher.
Source and image credit @ASFAT
