Istif-class

The lead frigate-sized variant of Turkey's indigenous MILGEM warship family, enlarging the earlier Ada-class corvette hull to add a vertical launch system and greater endurance for open-ocean anti-air and anti-submarine operations.

In service since 2021 · 1 operator countries

Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02

3,000

6,000

nmi

VLS

106

crew

Procurement snapshot

Availability & export

Türkiye export-licensed

SSB-administered; growing export programme, some Western sub-component dependencies.

Channel: Direct commercial / G2G

Fielded & proven

Limited · 1 operator

In service since 2021. Status: active · ~1 built.

Lifecycle cost (est.)

No public unit price to model from.

Interoperability

Mk 41 VLS-class

Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.

Full specifications

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Main armament Primary weapon: main gun, cannon or missile type.: 1× 76 mm gun
VLS cells Vertical-launch missile cells on a warship — a proxy for magazine depth. Higher means more missiles before rearming.: 16

Stronger than 20% of warships
Torpedo tubes Number of torpedo tubes (submarines and some surface ships).: 6

Stronger than 69% of warships

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

Length Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.: 113.2 m

Naval

Displacement, speed, endurance and diving depth.

Displacement Standard displacement in tonnes — the ship’s size class. Larger hulls carry more but cost more and are less agile.: 3,000 t
Full-load displacement Displacement fully loaded with fuel, stores and munitions.: 3,200 t
Max speed Top speed in knots (surfaced, for submarines). Higher aids positioning and screening.: 29 kn

Stronger than 54% of warships
Range Cruising range in nautical miles. Nuclear vessels are effectively unlimited (fuel-wise). Higher means more reach without replenishment.: 6,000 nmi

Stronger than 50% of warships
Complement Crew size. Fewer eases manning cost; more may indicate a larger, more capable platform.: 106
Propulsion plant Machinery type — nuclear reactor, gas turbine (COGAG), CODAG, diesel-electric, AIP.: CODAG (combined diesel and gas)

Sensors & avionics

Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.

Radar Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.: MFRS/UMWS integrated radar suite

Program

Cost, production scale and operators.

Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.: 1

Stronger than 15% of warships
Operator countries Number of countries operating the system. More operators means broader support ecosystem.: 1

Stronger than 45% of warships

Specifications compiled from public STM (Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik) and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.

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