TCB ''Marlin'' SİDA (TCB-1101) is a Turkish unmanned combat surface vessel (UCSV) of the Turkish Naval Forces, commissioned in January 2024.

History

The UCSV (, SİDA) was projected by the

Defence Industry Agency In Turkey, Defence Industry Agency ( (SSB)); formerly ''Presidency of Defence Industries'' and ''Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM)'' before that, is a civil institution established by the government to manage the Defense industry of Tu ...

of the

Ministry of Defense A ministry of defence or defense (see spelling differences), also known as a department of defence or defense, is the part of a government responsible for matters of defence and military forces, found in states where the government is divided ...

, and built in the

Sefine Shipyard Sefine Shipyard () is located in Yalova Province, Turkey. It builds a wide variety of ships, including tugboats, fireboats, passenger/car ferries and well boats. Overview Sefine Shipyard, which is owned by the Sefine Denizcilik Tersanecilik Turiz ...

at Altınova,

Yalova Province Yalova Province () is a Provinces of Turkey, province in northwestern Turkey, on the eastern coast of the Sea of Marmara. Its adjacent provinces are Bursa Province, Bursa to the south and Kocaeli Province, Kocaeli to the east. Its area is 798 ...

in cooperation with the state-owned defence systems company Aselsan for the needs of the

Turkish Naval Forces 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 ...

. ''Marlin'' SİDA took part at the "NATO Dynamic Messenger 2022" Exercise held at Tróia Peninsula, Portugal, and displayed her electronic warfare abilities. On 6 January 2023, a

solid-propellant rocket A solid-propellant rocket or solid rocket is a rocket with a rocket engine that uses solid propellants (fuel/ oxidizer). The earliest rockets were solid-fuel rockets powered by gunpowder. The inception of gunpowder rockets in warfare can be c ...

-powered missile Kuzgun-KY, developed by TÜBİTAK-SAGE, was test fired from the UCSV. At a ceremony held on 9 January 2024, she entered service in the

as the first

unmanned surface vessel An unmanned surface vehicle, unmanned surface vessel or uncrewed surface vessel (USV), colloquially called a drone boat, drone ship or sea drone, is a boat or ship that operates on the surface of the water without a crew. USVs operate with v ...

with the

hull number A hull number is a serial identification number given to a boat or ship. For the military, a lower number implies an older vessel. For civilian use, the Hull Identification Number (HIN) is used to trace the boat's history. The precise usage varie ...

TCB-1101 and name ''Marlin'' SİDA.

Characteristics

The vessel features autonomous navigation capability and high maneuverability. She is long, has a beam of , a displacement tonnage of and payload capacity of . She can cruise at a speed up to within a range of with an endurance of 72 hours. The vessel is powered by two

Diesel engine The diesel engine, named after the German engineer Rudolf Diesel, is an internal combustion engine in which Combustion, ignition of diesel fuel is caused by the elevated temperature of the air in the cylinder due to Mechanics, mechanical Compr ...

s. She features

dynamic positioning Dynamic positioning (DP) is a computer-controlled system to automatically maintain a vessel's position and heading by using its own propellers and thrusters. Position reference sensors, combined with wind sensors, motion sensors and gyrocompas ...

system KARETTA,

anti-jam Electronic counter-countermeasures (ECCM) is a part of electronic warfare which includes a variety of practices which attempt to reduce or eliminate the effect of electronic countermeasures (ECM) on electronic sensors aboard vehicles, ships and ...

system

GNSS A satellite navigation or satnav system is a system that uses satellites to provide autonomous geopositioning. A satellite navigation system with global coverage is termed global navigation satellite system (GNSS). , four global systems are op ...

and active stabilization system. She is armed with a 12.7 mm

remote controlled weapon station A remote controlled weapon station (RCWS), remotely operated weapon system (ROWS), or remote weapon system (RWS), is a remotely operated light or medium-caliber weapon system, often equipped with a fire-control system, that can be installed on a ...

, long range

guided missile A missile is an airborne ranged weapon capable of Propulsion, self-propelled flight aided usually by a propellant, jet engine or rocket motor. Historically, 'missile' referred to any projectile that is thrown, shot or propelled towards a targ ...

s, light

torpedo A modern torpedo is an underwater ranged weapon launched above or below the water surface, self-propelled towards a target, with an explosive warhead designed to detonate either on contact with or in proximity to the target. Historically, such ...

, and is equipped with Electronic warfare support system and

Sonobuoy A sonobuoy (a portmanteau of sonar and buoy) is a small expendable sonar buoy dropped from aircraft or ships for anti-submarine warfare or underwater acoustic research. Sonobuoys are typically around in diameter and long. When floating on t ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Marlin Unmanned surface vehicles of Turkey Ships of the Turkish Navy Ships built in Yalova 2022 ships 2024 ships Military vehicles introduced in the 2020s