"EXCLUSIVE NEWS | MILGEM Frigates for Indonesia Identified!
■ With the signing of the final contract by TAİS for the export of two frigates in the Indonesia MILGEM project—one of Turkey's largest defense industry export initiatives in the Southeast Asia market—the process has officially begun.
■ Thanks to the massive project brought to life with loan financing provided by Qatar, the "Turkish-Qatari-Indonesian Defense Industry Cooperation" model has been elevated to a strategic dimension.
■ Due to the increasing operational intensity of the Turkish Naval Forces, the original planning was revised, and it was decided to directly incorporate the under-construction frigates F-516 (TCG İZMİR), F-517 (TCG İZMİT), and F-518 (TCG İÇEL) into the Turkish Naval Forces inventory.
■ To prevent potential gaps in the Turkish Navy's combat strength, the F-519 and F-521 hull-numbered ships are expected to be delivered to Indonesia between 2027-2028, and construction activities for new frigates to replace them will be swiftly initiated using revenues from the Indonesian sale.
■ The F-520 and F-522 hull-numbered ships will also enter the Turkish Navy’s inventory.
■ Through this new export strategy, Turkey is building a sustainable ecosystem model in military shipbuilding that economically self-finances. This model could potentially expand by becoming a “Regional HUB” for the repair of foreign warships...
■ In this project—marking Turkey's first export of a large surface combatant at frigate scale to the Asia-Pacific region—numerous domestic solutions will be included in the package, such as ASELSAN-produced sensors, ROKETSAN-produced national missiles, MKE-produced naval guns, and HAVELSAN-produced command-and-control systems."