Türkiye Donates TCG Volkan Fast Attack Craft to the Maldives Coast Guard
Türkiye continues to expand its bilateral cooperation with the Maldives to establish a political and military presence in the Indian Ocean Region (IOR). In this context, Ankara, which exported Bayraktar TB2 to Malé during the India-Maldives crisis that erupted last year, has now donated (P-343) TCG VOLKAN, the oldest fast attack craft in the Navy’s service, to the MNDF Coast Guard.
TCG VOLKAN is the last of four missile boats Türkiye ordered from the German Lürssen Werft Shipyard in the early 1970s. The lead ship of the class (P-340), TCG Doğan, was built in Germany and accepted into service with the Turkish Navy on December 23, 1977. The remaining three ships, (P-341) TCG MARTI, (P-342) TCG TAYFUN, and (P-343) TCG VOLKAN, were built in Istanbul and entered the inventory between 1978 and 1988. These platforms, which enabled the Turkish Navy to fire RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles for the first time, began to be phased out of service in 2022.
Anadolu Agency reports, citing sources from Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defense, that TCG VOLKAN is undergoing maintenance and repair work at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command as part of the transfer preparations. After completing the relevant procedures, Türkiye plans to deliver the ship to the Maldives authorities between April and June.
Meanwhile, the training program for 19 Maldivian personnel who will serve on TCG Volkan started in Türkiye on April 6 and will continue until May 9. In addition, once the ship enters service with the MNDF Coast Guard, the Turkish Naval Forces will send an expert team to provide the crew with two weeks of practical advanced training.
- TCG Volkan – Technical Specifications
- Displacement: 436 tons (full load)
- Length: 58.1 meters (191 ft)
- Beam: 7.62 meters (25.0 ft)
- Draft: 2.74 meters (9 ft 0 in)
- Propulsion: 4 MTU diesel engines, four propellers
- Maximum Speed: 38 knots (70 km/h; 44 mph)
- Range: 650 nautical miles (1,050 km)
- Crew Capacity: 6 officers, 22 petty officers, 11 specialist sergeants, six enlisted personnel
- Sensors & Processing Systems:
- VM-28/41 surface search radar
- LIOD Mk-2 fire control radar
- 2 × decoy launchers
- Weapon equipment:
- 2 × Harpoon anti-ship missiles
- 1 × 76 mm OTO Melara main gun
- 1 × 35 mm close-in air defense gun
- 2 × 7.62 mm machine guns
Despite its age, TCG Volkan is expected to significantly enhance the maritime security capabilities of the Maldives, which has a large Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of 900,000 square kilometers, and combat illegal fishing, smuggling, and piracy.