Turkey Plans To Build up to 8 Frigates

Turkey plans to build four frigates with assistance from foreign shipyards and likely will fund an additional four for a total cost of about $7 billion, after the current production of eight corvettes is completed between 2015 and 2020, a senior procurement official said.

The official said the frigates would be built in private shipyards but will include the contribution of foreign bidders, as the program is too complex for local companies.

The Undersecretariat for Defense Industries has said air defense frigates are needed to defend against weapons fired by aircraft and other platforms, and to provide command and control, early warning, reconnaissance, surface warfare, underwater warfare, electronic warfare and air defense warfare.

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