Turkish MilGem Programme and TF-2000 project

1. Design attributes of a warship - advanced simulations for signature and survivability
2. Concept of a warship
3. Design verification of a warship
4. Warship software development
5. Warship production and maintenance plans and exercises

1. Design and construction of a corvette, called the Ada class.
2. Design and construction of a frigate to fulfil air defence duties in the post-2000, new millennium, named as TF-2000.
3. Design and construction of a frigate equipped with advanced weapons and sensors with future projection, named TF-100.

The history of the Ada-class, the corvette chapter of the project is mentioned in the following thread of the forum, briefly; Evaluation of the Milgem Project-Corvette.

The history of the TF-2000 project, the frigate then -- destroyer now chapter will be treated separately in a new thread.

Before going any further, it is best to introduce actors within the Turkish Navy that play an important role in the design and construction of the national warships, which are referred to as;
Advisory Board, the place where the Navy's doctrine and requirements for warships are shaped.

• ArmerKom, Araştırma Merkezi Komutanlığı - Research and Development Centre Command, the place where requirements are transformed into basic concepts.
• DPO, Dizayn Proje Ofisi - Design Project Office, the place where the concepts become reality, where the contract phase is handled and the project is supervised.
• PKO, Proje Kontrol Ofisi - Project Control Office, the place where outsourced projects are managed.
• Tersane Komutanlığı - Shipyards Command, the place where ships are built, also being the umbrella institution for DPO and PKO, the shipyards to be mentioned are Istanbul Tersane Komutanlığı (Pendik Naval Shipyard), Gölcük Tersane Komutanlığı (Gölcük Naval Shipyard) and İzmir Tersane Komutanlığı (İzmir, Alaybey Naval Shipyard).

Now that we have seen the actors, we can introduce another one; SSB, the place where the funds are collected, projects and procurement are supervised both financially and technically, where SSIK a management board is gathered under the leadership of the Presidency and projects are approved or budgets are allocated.

To add another layer of complexity, the MSB - the Ministry of Defence - has set up a company called ASFAT, which can privately manage the military shipyards, while the SSB owns a company called STM, which is the contractor for several projects under construction or design. For now, we can ignore the latest complexities and focus on the beauty; the TF-2000.

As already mentioned, the project started with the aim of creating a design that would be able to fulfil air defence tasks with the most advanced technological equipment. The first designs share a common architecture as seen in European air defence frigates (FFG-AAW), with a fixed face Active Phase Array Radar (APAR) and a rotating face early warning radar configured in low band and 32-48 VLS, from the pictures we can guess the first designs has aimed to have Thales sensor suite. But later the project has developed in a strange phase where foreign contribution is approved and Lockheed Martin and BAE of the UK have made offers, while LM has gone along with the Turkish request for integration of Turkish subsystems into the Aegis command and weapon management system, BAE has offered a simple design along with "partnership" on what is called Global Combat Ship. Meanwhile, Armerkom and DPO have been carrying out design studies that have finally resulted in what we have seen at IDEF'19.

What we can call as a first concept, an APAR radar accompanied by an early warning radar. It is safe to assume that these were in S and L band respectively, along with 2x RIM-116 launchers and 48 cell VLS is present for a combination of SM2 and ESSM.
These designs didn't last long, however, and eventually we came across the following, most recent form, which was created following the completion of the feasibility study by ArmerKom and DPO.

This is one of the following options, all studied by ArmerKom, DPO and Aselsan: one of them was a fully integrated mast similar to the Spanish F-110.

• A distributed radar system for long-range air search and illumination to increase survivability.
• Change from rotating face radar to fixed face radar for long-range search, also from L- and S-band to S- and X-band.
• Introduction of national IFF and ESM
• A flexible design with the introduction of a flexible bay that can accommodate an additional payload from either helicopters, RHIBs, USVs or containers.
• EOTS and X-band satellite communications system.
• 64 VLS in 32 + 32 configuration
• 2 gun based CIWS, the same design has been applied with 2x Millenium gun then with 2x Phalanx.
• In last IDEF, held in August 2021, the final form of TF-2000 has been present,​

Thanks @Altay_TR for the pictures:
Now we can start talking about the latest form, which TF-2000 officially became TD-2000, referred to as "Destroyer", most of the weapons and sensor systems now updated with Turkish alternatives.

In addition to the previous design we can see further:

• Nazar DIRCM will be added to the design, 2 as; one on the front and one on the rear, increasing the simultaneous CIWS capability to 4. Nazar DIRCM is a soft kill system that uses directed laser to eliminate the imaging seekers of incoming missiles and laser EO to target components of the missile threats, alternatively it can jam swarm attacks and directed laser can be used to eliminate soft shell threats at a range of 4+ km. The blind range for IR and EO seekers is currently unknown. The system can blind the full range of the spectrum used by various missiles.
• The National VLS (MIDLAS), which houses SIPER, Hisar-RF (or G40) in quad-packs, Hisar-U and, surprisingly, the Gezgin cruise missile, is officially included in the brochure. The Navy is thinking ahead and has already planned the deployment of Gezgin.
• The mast has been refreshed, CAFRAD's CFR module has been raised to improve visibility and scan closer to the hull, EOTS has been increased from 1 to 3-4, and X-band communications capacity has been increased and placed on top of the mast, implying a strong 'network enabled warfare' capability.
• The exhaust system has been reworked, but the propulsion system remains the same as CODOG.
• One small detail that seems to have been overlooked by many is that the new "APU" (Auxiliary Propulsion Unit) may be a retractable azimuth system used in place of the bow thruster to allow emergency manoeuvres, increasing sonar and hydrodynamic performance during cruising. In addition, the system will provide limited dynamic positioning capabilities in conditions requiring open-sea positioning (COIN and humanitarian missions). The APU will also enable unattended approaches to ports, maximising survivability in an emergency.
• Towed array - VDS and hull mounted sonar.
• Communication V(U)-HF ED/EC module
• Radar ESM and dedicated electronic warfare suite.
• UMTAS launchers (2), now conceptually available, we can expect a multi-rack launcher capable of firing 8+ missiles per launcher.
• 4 x 25 mm RCWS, as opposed to 2 in the past, with 2 additional positions available through the optional use of Umtas launchers.

• A flexible mission bay capable of carrying: 10 TEU containers, 4 RHIBs, 1 15 tonne medium lift helicopter (2 x 10 tonne, plus multiple UAVs depending on size and weight).
• Unrestricted operation in Sea State 5, partially in 6 and 7. Survivability not specified.
• 130-150 crew, with additional facilities for up to 200 personnel. Indication that there will be flexible missions including use of SOF teams (through use of swimmer delivery vehicle or advanced RHIB), USV and UUV teams, aviation teams (UAV and helicopter).
• 45 days endurance (excluding refuelling)
• 5000 hour maintenance interval equivalent to 210 days, with a further target of 300+ days.
• 180 days of uninterrupted operations without reliance on major bases.
• 4 RHIB stations capable of deploying up to 8 RHIB/USVs (4 optional in Flexible Mission Bay - FMB)
• Multi-role operations ranging from ASW, AAW, ASuW to counter-insurgency and piracy, flotilla/base protection and humanitarian missions.