The Turkish Navy operates four Barbaros Class multipurpose frigates. Two warships were built by the Blohm + Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, and the remaining two were constructed by the Gölcük Naval Shipyard in Turkey with assistance from Germany.
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The keel for the first ship in class, TCG Barbaros (F-244), was laid in April 1992. The vessel was launched in September 1993 for the service entry in March 1995.
TCG Oruçreis (F-245) was laid in July 1992, launched in July 1994 and entered service in May 1996. TCG Salihreis (F-246) was laid in March 1995, launched in September 1997 and entered service in December 1998.
The last ship in the class, TCG Kemalreis (F-247), was laid in December 1996 and launched in July 1998. It entered service with the Turkish Navy in June 2000.
Barbaros Class frigates feature anti surface warfare (ASuW), anti submarine warfare (ASW) and anti-aircraft warfare (AAW) capabilities.
Barbaros class frigate design
Based on the MEKO 200 TN-II design of Blohm + Voss, Barbaros Class frigate is larger than its predecessor Yavuz Class frigate which carries MEKO 200 TN-I design.
The Barbaros Class incorporated combined diesel or gas (CODOG) propulsion system in place of pure diesels found in the initial MECO ships of the Turkish Navy. The Barbaros Class also feature a complete citadel for improved NBC protection.
The first two frigates have an overall length of 116.7m, beam of 14.8m and a draft of 4.3m. The hulls of F246 and F247 were slightly extended to ease the helicopter operations. The full load displacement of the ship is 3,380t. Each ship can complement a crew of 220.
Barbaros command and control systems
The Barbaros Class is equipped with Thales Nederland (formerly Signaal) STACOS TU/FD tactical command and control System. The combat system has network enabled capability and is integrated with radar trackers for Sea Sparrow and Sea Zenith close-in weapon system (CIWS).
Barbaros missiles
Barbaros is fitted with a Mk 41 Mod.8 vertical launch system for firing 16 Sea Sparrow surface-to-air missiles. There are two Mk 141 quad launchers for eight RGM-84 Harpoon anti-ship missiles.
Naval gun systems onboard the Barbaros Class multipurpose frigates
The main gun fitted forward is a MK 45 mod 1 5/54 cal. lightweight gun. It can fire 16 to 20 rounds a minute for a maximum range of 13 nautical miles (nm). Three Oerlikon Contraves Sea Zenith 25mm CIWS mounted on the vessel provide close-point defence against anti-ship missiles and other incoming missiles and rockets. The four barrelled CIWS has a rate of fire of 3,400 rounds a minute and a maximum range of 2km.
Torpedoes
Anti-submarine warfare capabilities are provided by two MK 32 triple torpedo launch tubes firing lightweight torpedoes including Mk 44, Mk 46, Sting Ray and A244S.
Sensors / radars of the Turkish ships
The sensor suite consists of Decca 2690 BT ARPA navigation radar, BAE Systems AWS-9 surface / air surveillance radar, AWS 6 tracking radar, CIWS target designation radar, Thales STIR-18 and Thales STIR-24 fire control radars. The frigate is also equipped with Raytheon SQS-56 hull mounted medium frequency sonar, URN-25 TACAN and Ferranti laser rangefinder.
Aircraft support facilities
The frigate has an aft flight deck to support the operations of a single AB 212 ASW helicopter or a Sea Hawk S-70 AsuW / ASW helicopter. The S-70B helicopter is equipped with Penguin and Hellfire missiles. Hangar facility is provided for one helicopter.
Countermeasure technology
Electronic countermeasures equipment includes Racal Cutlass interceptor and Scorpion B jammer.
Scorpion protects the warships from sea-skimming radar guided missiles by generating ten different types of jamming modules.
The ships are also equipped with MK 36 super rapid bloom offboard countermeasures (SRBOC) chaff and decoy launching system and SLQ-25 Nixie towed torpedo decoy system.
Propulsion and engines
The Barbaros Class is powered by combined diesel or gas (CODOG) propulsion system integrating two MTU 16 V 1.163 TB 83 diesels and two GE LM 2500 gas turbines. These engines driving two controllable pitch propellers through two shafts provide a maximum speed of 32kt and a range of 4,100nm at 18kt speed. Auxiliary power is provided by four MTU/SIEMENS diesel gen sets.
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