Turkey launches indigenous frigate in show of navy power

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has launched the country's first indigenous frigate Istanbul (F-515) and pledged to take the country's navy to a "very strong position" with five major projects in the coming years. 

Speaking at a launch ceremony for the frigate and welding ceremony of the third ship under Pakistan MILGEM corvette project on Saturday, Erdogan said the country is among the 10 countries that can design, build, and maintain its own warship.

"Turkey meets needs of friendly and allied countries as well as itself in terms of land and sea vehicles," Erdogan said, adding Ankara can overcome challenges and embargoes posed by global suppliers through its own strength. 

Erdogan said the military, economic, and diplomatic strength is an obligation, not a choice for Turkey.

READ MORE: How Turkey became a strong naval power in recent years

New submarines to go into service

Turkey, boasting significant skills in submarine technology, will put into service six of its new submarines starting in 2022 with Piri Reis, Erdogan announced.

On the country's progress on UAVs and drones, Erdogan said that Turkey is now also among the first three to four countries globally in terms of the production of unmanned and armed unmanned aerial vehicles.

"Turkey will take Gokdeniz, the naval version of Korkut low-altitude air defence system into the inventory for the first time with Istanbul frigate," he said.

An aircraft carrier to be designed indigenously, following Anadolu Ship, will take Turkey to the top league in the field, Erdogan added.

Turkish firms in world top 100 list

Seven Turkish companies, including two new entries, have made it to the list of the world's top 100 defence firms as ranked by Defense News. 

The US-based publication, which focuses on politics and the business of the military, uses data from analysts and companies' annual reports to assess their defence revenues in order to rank the world's most prestigious defence firms.

This year, the number of Turkish companies on the top 100 list rose to seven from five.

ASELSAN, Turkey's largest defence firm, ranks 48, rising to the top 50 from the 52nd spot last year. The company entered the list in 2006 at 93rd.

The company's annual turnover rose by 21 percent to $2.172 billion.

ASELSAN's experience in military defence systems includes imaging technologies and electro-optics as well as product solutions based on research and development.