Navy of Turkey: number of ships, composition and modernization

When the Russian Su-24 was shot down by the Turkish Air Force in the Syrian sky, there was no dangerous hysteria in our country. The reaction was adequate, and to call Turkey to answer and apologize not immediately, but succeeded in a completely different war - economic. But if Russia had decided to "bluff" with weapons, could it have hoped for success in the war on land and at sea? In this article, the state of the Turkish Navy will be reviewed, and comparative characteristics will be made. Is the military confrontation between the two countries possible? This issue is now being discussed by many experts.

Modernization

The Turkish Navy is rapidly changing, evolving from a gathering of collapsing ships into an effective force capable of asserting itself in the waters of the Bosporus and the Dardanelles. Ships are mostly foreign and modern, but more and more often - the offspring of their own shipyards. This is not the most fundamental strength of the Turkish army, not the largest, not the richest, but the Turks deliberately manage all resources and carefully conduct certification tests.

Good designers, modern shipyards are the guarantee of viability in the total modernization of the Turkish Navy. In the coming years, the plans of the Turkish command to update or replace most of the ships and ships. The program of modernization of the Turkish Navy is designed in such a way that the refusal of foreign ship systems is gradually and finally provided. Already, the projects are becoming cooperative, joint with foreign shipyards: the main ship is mounted abroad, the rest are licensed in Turkey. So you gain the skill of building more and more complex ships.

Reasons for modernization

The shipbuilding industry in the country is well developed already now: about forty modern shipyards are working not only on their own merchant fleet - quite large, in comparison with the Turkish Navy - but also build ships for export. In the defense industry department, a tender has been announced, as a result of which only four shipyards will be winners who will perform the construction of ships for the navy. Turkey feels the need for a stronger fleet, because it sees threats around its not only land, but also maritime borders.

The first Turkish fear is Russia, which is restoring spheres of influence, and Turkey has its own interests in the nearby northern territories. These are the conflicts in the south, and the historical confrontation in the west with Greece, and, of course, in the east - a completely unpredictable Iran. And if we take into account that the country sells ninety percent of the total volume of foreign trade by sea, it can be understood why the ships of the Turkish Navy should be capable of defense. A strong fleet guarantees the safety of navigation and is able to provide protection to the borders, which constitute 8,300 just the coastline plus the islands of the Aegean Sea.

Composition

The Turkish Navy has fifty-five thousand people today. At the base of the surface fleet there are nineteen patrol vessels, among them frigates from Germany (Meko 200) and the USA (Oliver Hazard Perry and Knox), six French corvettes. Also, in coastal operations, twenty-five missile and several dozen patrol boats can be deployed. Mining ships are mostly purchased again from France, Germany and the United States.

Here amphibious ships are very outdated, but they are few. There are fourteen submarines, and all Germanic. The number of ships of the Turkish Navy, as we see, is quite impressive. The whole fleet is now standardizing weapons, checking control systems and the rest of the ship's equipment.

Armament

In the very near future, Turkey will begin to design independently, without the help of foreign powers. This is the combat systems, and heavy torpedoes, and hydroacoustics for submarines. In spite of the fact that in many respects the modernization of the Turkish fleet is still dependent on foreign patrons, now the Turkish Navy is often put in the place of the leader of this region.

The Russian Black Sea Fleet has never set itself the task of competing in tonnage with its closest neighbors by sea, but even the only operational strategic section of the Russian Navy, which is the Black Sea Fleet, will certainly be able to ensure military security in this theater of operations. The Black Sea Fleet has at its disposal surface ships operating in the near sea and in the ocean zones, sea fighter, anti-submarine and missile-carrying aircraft, diesel submarines, as well as parts of coastal forces.

The Black Sea Fleet of Russia

The flagship of the fleet is the Moscow missile cruiser (project 1164), the strike missile carrier with the anti-ship complex Vulkan (Basalt). The missiles have supersonic speed and strike targets in absolutely any point of the Black Sea space. The "Moscow" air defense function also performs fully, since the Fort complex is practically S-300, and there are eight such launchers, which means that they will ensure the defeat of sixty-four targets simultaneously. And when "Moscow" began to control the air on the western coast of the Mediterranean Sea in Syria after the incident with our Su-24, Turkish military aircraft ceased flights there immediately and completely.

The most effective combat units of the Black Sea Fleet are the Samum missile boats, which have no analogues in any naval forces of the countries of the Black Sea basin. They uniquely combine the shock potential and maneuverability in these boats, which is why they are at the heart of the combat composition of their class. Rapidly high-speed, with powerful armament from eight anti-ship missiles, antiaircraft and artillery systems of a wide range, these missile boats reliably provide control over the sea zone.

Submarines

The Black Sea submarine forces of Russia, too, have recently been born anew. Project 636 submarines are considered the most subtle - "ocean black holes" in the words of experts from NATO. They merge with the natural marine background and hit targets at a distance that does not allow the enemy detection, and this distance exceeds the detection several times.

But only new submarines of this class on the Black Sea are at least four. The submarines of this class (Varshavyanka) have powerful armament-six eighteen torpedoes or twenty-four mines, and Caliber cruise missiles, which also destroy ground targets, as demonstrated in the Syrian operation. The Naval Aviation has been updated to the Black Sea Fleet, replenished with new SU-30SM fighters, and the most arsenal of laudatory words will not suffice to describe the combat qualities of this machine. All of the above indicates that in the forecasts of the confrontation between the Turkish Navy and Russia, the comparison is clearly in our favor.

Floating "second-hand" is updated

Turkey is well aware that the maritime borders need to be strengthened, and therefore they have long and persistently tried to create their own full military ship, even if the designs are borrowed from the Germans, and armament from the Americans. But new corvettes are built in Turkish shipyards, even a purely Turkish destroyer is planned, with the capabilities of a European or American level. Even we are talking about the construction of an amphibious assault helicopter like the Mistrals.

That is, the attitude of the Turkish side is still militant, and the leadership of Turkey is exasperating the strengthening of the Black Sea Fleet of Russia. As in Crimea there was so self-sufficient grouping that covers completely the Black Sea basin. Even more worried about the country's leadership is that the Russian squadron has settled in the Mediterranean. It's a shame for Turkey, as recently they were the strongest in this region.

Vulnerabilities

Today Turkey is in a quarrel with virtually all its neighbors, even Israel has ceased to be an ally, the more strange the relationship has become with Syria. And the intensity of relations with Russia is the most unpredictable circumstance. The only thing that Turkey can do in this respect is to make friends with Russia and Ukraine, but it will not bring comfort to anyone, primarily the Turkish Navy.

The Russian-Turkish conflict developed extremely quickly, but was even more quickly extinguished - and without military intervention. However, predictions of incredible events have already been made: the blockade of the straits, the blocking of the Russian fleet off the coast of Syria, demonstrated at the exercises of Turkish troops in the Sea of Marmara, and later the deployment of submarines towards the cruiser Moskva, increased the tension in the relations of the two countries to the maximum. One can analyze the recent behavior of the Turkish Navy, photo-information is presented quite widely.

Legal Rights

It should be emphasized that Turkey has no right to block the straits, since in 1936 the convention was ratified by the majority of countries, including the same Turkey. Sovereignty over the straits of the Dardanelles and the Bosporus does not give the right to block the movement of fleets of other countries without declaration of war.