Erdogan aims to entrench Blue Homeland
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made it clear again on Friday that Ankara will do everything it can to entrench his “Blue Homeland” doctrine with a strong fleet, announcing several shipbuilding programs. Erdogan participated in the “Strength to the Blue Homeland” event held at private shipyards in Yalova, on the Marmara Sea, and greeted the launching ceremony of four new ships with a defiant speech.
“We carry out all our actions true to Barbarossa’s motto ‘he who rules the seas rules the world.’ With this concept we have implemented many projects to secure the Blue Homeland. In these projects, we have reached the national production levels of 80%,” Erdogan said, stressing that his country not only builds ships, but also produces their electronics, payload and all their weapons systems.
The Blue Homeland doctrine envisages Turkish influence over large swaths of the Mediterranean, which countries in the region, including Greece, see as an encroachment on their sovereign rights.
The Turkish Navy received the Turkish-designed Istif-class frigate Istanbul, the Derya combat support ship, the logistic support ship Arif Ekmekci and the unmanned Marlin. The Derya is the second largest vessel in the Turkish fleet. According to Turkish officials, the Marlin is the world’s first unmanned surface vessel with electronic warfare capabilities.
According to Ankara’s long-term plan, by 2026 the Turkish Navy will receive an additional three frigates which are currently being built simultaneously at three private shipyards. After the completion of this program, according to the decision of the National Security Council, an additional four Istif-class frigates will be built, bringing the total number of new frigates to eight.
In 2024, the German-built submarine Piri Reis is expected to be delivered to the Turkish Navy. Five more will follow with the aim to have all of them delivered by 2028.
