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Warship

Turkey

STM (Savunma Teknolojileri Mühendislik)

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. Why so few systems publish one →

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.

Compatible munitions & weapons

Publicly reported weapons the Istif-class can carry. Linked items have a full spec page.

Atmaca anti-ship missile Hisar-class SAM

MK 54 torpedo

Full specifications

Firepower

Armament, payload and guidance.

Firepower specifications
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 22% of warships
Torpedo tubes Number of torpedo tubes (submarines and some surface ships).	6 Stronger than 70% of warships

Physical

Dimensions, weight and crew.

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

Naval

Displacement, speed, endurance and diving depth.

Naval specifications
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 56% 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 54% 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.

Sensors & avionics specifications
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.

Program specifications
Units built Total production run. Higher means proven manufacturing, mature logistics and spares availability.	1 Stronger than 16% 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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