Turkish Navy Commissioned TCG Piri Reis, The First Reis-Class Type 214 AIP Submarine
On 24 August, the Turkish Navy commissioned TCG Piri Reis (S-330), the first Type 214TN REİS Class air-independent propulsion (AIP) submarine of the New Type Submarine Project ( YTDP). The official acceptance ceremony of the first Reis Class Submarine, which will provide the Turkish Navy with critical submersible assets, was celebrated with a ceremony held at Aksaz Naval Base in the Marmaris district of Muğla, on the southeastern coast of the Aegean Sea, whose inauguration coincided with the delivery of TCG Piri Reis. This important event was witnessed by many guests, including President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister of Defence Yaşar Güler and Naval Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu.
In addition to the TCG Piri Reis and Aksaz Shipyard Command achievements, the Turkish Navy celebrated many other important milestones at the same event. Among these, the official sea trials of the second Reis-class submarine, TCG Hızır Reis (S-331), began, and the third submarine, TCG Murat Reis (S-332), was docked for fitting. The event also involved the Yakit-2, Yakit-3, and Yakit-4 fuel vessels and the world’s largest 3,000-tonne Submarine Dock into service.
During his speech at the ceremony Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his thanks to everyone who contributed to the construction of the vessels saying: “We are endeavoring to strengthen the Turkish Armed Forces in every field… our Reis class submarines are equipped with qualifications much more advanced than their counterparts across the world. The Piri Reis submarine is capable of operating for a long duration without surfacing.”
TCG PIRI REİS (S-330) is the first of six submarines being built under the New Type Submarine Project (YTDP) initiated by the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) under the license of the German shipbuilding company TKMS (ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems) with over 80% domestic contribution. Work on TCG Piri Reis started on 28 September 2015 at Gölcük Shipyard on the east coast of the Marmara Sea. Launched on 22 December 2019, the Piri Reis Submarine started sea trials on 12 December 2022.
The project’s second submarine, TCG Hızır Reis (S-331), launched on 25 May 2023, and will be commissioned in 2025 following the start of sea trials. The third submarine, TCG Murat Reis, currently undergoing dry dock equipping, is slated for commissioning in 2026. According to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, TCG Aydın Reis, TCG Seydi Ali Reis, and TCG Selman Reis, which are currently under construction, are expected to be delivered to the Turkish naval forces gradually by 2029.
When the new Reis-class submarines are commissioned, they will replace the S-349 TCG-BATIRAY, S-350 TCG-YILDIRAY, S-351 TCG-DOĞANAY, and S-352 TCG-DOLUNAY submarines, which are called Class Type-209/1200 or Ay-class. These submarines were built in Gölcük Shipyard thanks to the technology transfer the German Kiel shipyards provided in the 70s and 80s. While the two oldest submarines of the class, S-347 TCG-ATILAY and S-348 TCG-SALDIRAY, were retired a few years ago due to the end of their service life, the two newest submarines of the class, TCG Doğanay and TCG Dolunay were modernized by STM in 2014-2015.
Reis class submarines have a length of 68 meters, a height of 13 meters, a surface displacement of 1,690 tonnes, a top speed of 20+ knots, a maximum range of 1250 nautical miles, an operating depth of 260 meters, and a crew capacity of 40. These submarines, which have an air-independent propulsion system in the Howaldswerke-Deutsche Werft (HDW) fuel cell, can carry out operations in secrecy underwater for weeks without surfacing. Regarding armament, the submarines will be equipped with Roketsan AKYA torpedoes, the first heavy torpedoes developed in Turkey, a submarine-launched variant of ATMACA anti-ship missiles, and Gezgin missiles.
Thanks to these capabilities, Reis-class submarines will be able to undertake missions such as coastal water operations, ocean patrols, surface and anti-submarine operations, ISR missions, and special forces operations in the maritime jurisdiction areas declared by Turkey in the Black Sea, Mediterranean, and Aegean, which Turkey defines as its “blue homeland.”