The ''Barbaros''-class frigates are among the most modern

frigate A frigate () is a type of warship. In different eras, the roles and capabilities of ships classified as frigates have varied. The name frigate in the 17th to early 18th centuries was given to any full-rigged ship built for speed and maneuvera ...

s in the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

. They were designed in

Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...

and are part of the

MEKO The MEKO family of warships was developed by the German company Blohm+Voss. MEKO is a registered trademark. The portmanteau stands for "''Mehrzweck-Kombination''" (English: multi-purpose-combination). It is a concept in modern naval shipbuilding ...

group of modular warships, in this case the

MEKO 200 The MEKO 200 is a frigate design by the Blohm + Voss shipyard of Germany, as part of the MEKO family of warships. Variants ''Anzac'' class (MEKO 200ANZ) Ten MEKO 200 frigates were built to the Anzac-class frigate, ''Anzac''-class design: ei ...

design. Two ships were built in Germany and two in Turkey with German assistance. They are larger than the previous s and are also faster due to using CODOG machinery rather than pure diesels. The first two vessels (F 244 and F 245) are defined as the ''Barbaros'' class ( MEKO 200 TN Track II-A) while the last two vessels (F 246 and F 247) are defined as the ''Salih Reis'' class ( MEKO 200 TN Track II-B) by the Turkish Navy. ''Salih Reis'' subclass ships are built with 8-cell Mk. 41 VLS and are longer than ''Barbaros'' class vessels to accommodate 16-cell Mk. 41 VLS upgrade in the future. The ''Barbaros''-class vessels built with Mk.29 Sea Sparrow launchers are planned to be replaced by 8-cell Mk. 41 VLS.

Modernization projects

''Barbaros''-class vessels (F 244, F 245) have received an 8-cell Mk41 vertical launcher system (VLS) module, which replaced the obsolete Mk.29 Sea Sparrow launcher, while ''Salihreis''-class vessels (F 246, F 247) have received a second 8-cell Mk 41 VLS module which brings the total number of cells to 16. Additionally the old DA-08 air search radars in all 4 vessels has been replaced by modern Thales SMART-S Mk2 3D radars. On 3 April 2018 a contract was signed between ASELSAN–

HAVELSAN HAVELSAN is a Turkish software and systems company having business presence in the defence and IT sectors. It is headquartered in Ankara, Turkey, with subsidiary companies and offices around Turkey and abroad. Havelsan is mostly active in the ...

Joint Venture and the secretariat for Defense Industry (SSM) regarding the Barbaros Class Frigate mid-life upgrade project. Project includes a heavy upgrade which including new weapons systems, a new combat management system, new radars and sensors, replacing current mast with an integrated mast and various upgrades. All 4 ships are included in this project. Expected finish year for project is 2025. The mid-life modernization program projects to replace the radars and sonars, enhance EW capabilities, double the number of anti-ship missiles that the vessel is equipped with while also replacing it by locally designed and produced Atmaca anti-ship missiles, substitution of the Oerlikon

Sea Zenith Sea Zenith is a four-barrelled 25 mm CIWS used by the Turkish Navy on their MEKO 200 frigates, like the Barbaros and Yavuz classes. It was developed in the 1980s by Oerlikon Contraves ( Rheinmetall Air Defence since 2009) around their O ...

CIWS A close-in weapon system (CIWS ) is a point-defense weapon system for detecting and destroying short-range incoming missiles and enemy aircraft which have penetrated the outer defenses, typically mounted on a naval ship. Nearly all classes of ...

systems with 1

Phalanx The phalanx (: phalanxes or phalanges) was a rectangular mass military formation, usually composed entirely of heavy infantry armed with spears, pikes, sarissas, or similar polearms tightly packed together. The term is particularly used t ...

and 1 Aselsan Gokdeniz CIWS, change the existing TACTICOS combat management system with

Havelsan HAVELSAN is a Turkish software and systems company having business presence in the defence and IT sectors. It is headquartered in Ankara, Turkey, with subsidiary companies and offices around Turkey and abroad. Havelsan is mostly active in the ...

"B-SYS Combat Management System" and adopt a 127mm main gun to the frigates. Finally against asymmetric threats that the vessels may face 2x2 L/UMTAS launchers are planned to be integrated to the frigates.

Ships of the class

References

External links

The First Upgraded MEKO 200 Frigate Of Turkish Navy

{{Ship classes of the Turkish Navy Frigate classes Frigates of Turkey Germany–Turkey relations