Turkish shipbuilder, RMK Marine, introduced the first MilGem (Ada)-class corvette, Hetman Ivan Mazepa (F 211), at its shipyard in Istanbul’s Tuzla, on October 2.
The launch ceremony for the corvette – launched on order for Ukraine – attended by Ukraine’s First Lady, Olena Zelenska, and Commander of Ukraine’s Navy, Oleksiy Neyizhpapa – was declared on their Twitter accounts that day.
Per Neyizhpapa, the vessel will be homeported in Crimea’s Sevastopol.
Hetman Ivan Mazepa is in the process of being built by RMK Marine following an agreement that was reportedly signed by the Turkish Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB) and the Ukrainian Ministry of Defence (MoD) for an initial set of two corvettes back in 2020 (December). Turkish engineering firm named STM has overall responsibility for the program.
Video Credits: Military Coverage / YouTube
Construction on Hetman Ivan Mazepa began in 2021 (July), and the keel was reportedly laid on September 7 2021.
Under initial planning, the first corvette was scheduled to be delivered to Ukraine for the final outfitting by the end of 2023; however, it is unclear if the timeline has been negatively impacted by the conflict with Russia, which began in February 2022.
The ship is based on the four 99m Ada-class corvettes built for Turkey’s Navy that was operational between 2011 and 2019.
Turkey is building four corvettes exclusively for Pakistan under a deal signed in 2018, with the next-gen models scheduled for delivery in 2023.
References: Naval News, Naval Technology