A First in Turkeys History: Naval Vessel Exported to NATO Member Romania
Marking a significant first in its naval history, Turkey has exported a naval vessel constructed for a NATO and European Union member state, officially delivering the corvette “Cam. Roman” to Romania.
According to sea-news.az Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Romanian President Nicusor Dan attended the official delivery ceremony organized in Istanbul.
Erdogan: “The ship’s systems are entirely of domestic production”
Speaking at the ceremony, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed this event as a major success for the defense industry of Turkey and a testament to the friendship between the two nations:
“Today, we have gathered in Istanbul to once again reaffirm the achievements of our maritime industry, our engineering potential, as well as the friendship between Turkey and Romania. We are entering a new phase in the long-standing cooperation between our countries and proudly presenting the corvette ‘Cam. Roman’ to the Romanian Naval Forces. This is the first naval vessel export in our history carried out to a NATO and European Union member state.
We highly value the developing cooperation between Turkey, Romania, and Bulgaria in areas such as mine countermeasures. The combat management system, radars, fire control system, sonar systems, and close-in weapon systems used on the vessel we delivered today were produced entirely by our domestic companies.”
A New Vessel for the Turkish Navy at the Same Ceremony
The ceremony in Istanbul marked a milestone not only for Romania but also for the Turkish fleet. Alongside the corvette “Cam. Roman”, the “Hisar”-class offshore patrol vessel “TCG Kochisar” was officially commissioned into the Turkish Naval Forces.
Both naval vessels were constructed with high technologies under Turkey’s National Ship (MİLGEM) program by the “Asfat” company, which operates under the Ministry of National Defense of Turkey and serves as the main contractor of the project.
