Under the auspices of the Presidency of Defence Industries (SSB), STM Savunma Teknolojileri ve Mühendislik A.Ş. - a leading actor in Turkey’s defence industry initiative - has taken a historic step in Türkiye’s national submarine production effort to “develop the necessary industrial infrastructure for the design and construction of military submarines with national resources”.
Designed entirely by STM engineers using national resources, the STM500 submarine project has entered the pressure hull test production phase. This will mark the first time a private company in Türkiye has manufactured the pressure hull of a military submarine. The STM500 submarine has been designed considering also the needs of friendly and allied nations, and will be integrated with the most up-to-date features.
Prof. Dr. İsmail Demir, President of Defence Industries (SSB) announced the launch of the first stage in the production of the STM500 on his social media account, saying: “Historic step in our national submarine adventure! We are starting production of the STM500 submarine, which has been designed by Turkish engineers with national resources, with the test production of the pressure hull. The STM500 is designed to operate both in blue waters and brown waters. The STM500 will be equipped with advanced and modern warfare systems, and shall contain the necessary equipment for all tactical functions, such as reconnaissance and surveillance, special forces operations and submarine warfare.”
Özgür Güleryüz, General Manager of STM, said: “As the first engineering company in Türkiye to gain the capacity to build and modernize submarines, we have reached another historic milestone. We are proud to be launching the pressure hull test production of our STM500 submarine, as an outcome of our national engineering works. I congratulate all of my teammates who have contributed to our STM500 submarine, which has high export potential, and thank our President of Defence Industries Prof. Dr. İsmail Demir for his support.”
The small-sized national submarine STM500, as a product of Turkish engineers, is designed to operate both in brown waters and in the blue waters. The STM500 will be equipped with advanced and modern warfare systems, and shall be integrated with the necessary equipment to satisfy global tactical needs such as reconnaissance and surveillance, special forces operations, and submarine warfare operations. The STM500 will be able to perform missions of all kinds for 30 days with an eight special forces team in addition to its 18 crew. The platform will be armed with eight heavy torpedoes and guided missiles, with four ready-to-fire torpedo tubes.
The STM500 is attracting considerable interest abroad, and various negotiations have been launched. Türkiye and in this particular STM continues its work in the strategic submarine technologies field, as well as in aviation and space technologies, under the leadership of SSB and with the participation of domestic industries.
In addition to meeting all the requirements of a conventional submarine, STM500 will also meet the requirements of special forces operations.
- Diving Depth: 250+ meters
- Endurance: 30 days
- Overall Length: 42.0 metres
- Diameter: 4.2 metres
- Height: 8.5 metres
- Tonnage: On the surface 450 tons; Submerged 540 tons
- Maximum Submerged Speed: 18 knots
- Patrol Speed: 5 knots
STM has been serving the Turkish defence sector for the last 30 years in the provision of engineering, technology and consultancy works, operating in fields that are critical for Turkey and its allies. It applies its advanced capabilities and technologies to a broad range of strategic fields, ranging from naval platforms to tactical mini-UAV systems, satellite works to cybersecurity, and from big data analytics to artificial intelligence applications.
