Turkey launched its first indigenous intelligence ship, TCG Ufuk (A-591) on February 9, 2019, during a ceremony held at Istanbul Shipyard. The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and ministers attended the ceremony.
The ship has similar design features with the Ada Class corvettes (Turkey's MILGEM national warship programme) but does not have weapon systems on board.
The TCG Ufuk provides landing platform for helicopter without hangar and will serve as a test and training ship for new systems produced in Turkey as well.
“The Ufuk corvette will be able to immediately detect threats to our national security, in international waters, for 45 days without pause and in harsh climates and maritime conditions,” said President Erdoğan during a speech he gave at the launch ceremony.
“In today’s world, where preventative intelligence, especially signals intelligence, has gained vital importance, the Ufuk will fill a large gap,” Erdoğan stated. He added that Turkey is one of the leading countries in the Mediterranean in both building and maintaining ships.
The commissioning of TCG Ufuk is scheduled for July 2020.
