The “Corveta” file: Why does Romania want to buy a corvette from Turkey, when there are resources now to build military ships in the country

This is the article published by HotNews.ro from which the public scandal of the Turkish corvette that Romania will buy. Even interim president Ilie Bolojan was put in a position to answer, in the press conference on Tuesday, why our country will purchase such a ship.

The Netherlands restores its fleet of ships in Romania, and Romania buys a vessel from Turkey, paying over 200 million euros. Is this the globalization or is something else?

• During this time, the site from Galați delivered about 30 ships, for 13 different armies.

CSAT recently approved that the naval forces should be equipped “with a new type of ship, a light corvette, capable of executing, in the shortest time, a multitude of missions.

Several sources in the industry have indicated for Hotnews that MApN is considering the purchase of a ship in Turkey, a ship already built, but not in the service of the Turkish Navy.

The “emergency” plan became multiannual

The decision came suddenly, without any discussion or a program presented in the public space. This is after years when any kind of endowment plan for the naval forces was constantly prolonged or delayed.

The last public known project, about which Hotnews wrote in the autumn of 2023, provided that, after the failure of corvette's purchase through the Naval Group contract, the naval forces would go to easier vessels, of OPV type (Off-Hore Patrol Vessel). They were to be equipped capable like light corvettes. An essential element of that plane: the ships were to be built in the country.

It has been more than a year and a half since then, and the “emergency” plan has become a mutian expectation. The urgent need and the money for endowment have always existed, but the MApN has blocked in something that the public had access to, because our armies did not even sketch an explanation for the citizens.

Not ordered in Galati, we will pay over 200 million euros

If the reason for the emergency, translated in the need to carry out missions “in the shortest time”, was the most pressing, the MApN had always available to sign the contract with the bidder on the second place – Damen – who kept its offer. Of course, this offer of Damen was “only” 50 million euros more expensive.

Then MAPN said that it did not identify the necessary funds, those 50 million euros in difference, to sign for four authentic corvettes, in the package with the modernization of two frigates. Now, “emergency”, the light corvette in Turkey could cost even over 200 million euros.

If in 2023 a contract was signed, there were good chances that the first ships would have seen them in the water even in 2025 or in 2026, considering the history of the Galati site to deliver ships on time or even before terms for other countries.

A Hisar Class Class, built by the State Company Turkish asphant

Now a new plan, also “emergency” has been removed from Joben, but this time it seems much closer to the achievement: Romania to buy a single military ship, already built, from Turkey.

Several sources in the industry have stated for Hotnews that the “light corvette” ship as CSAT claims, is actually a HISAR OPV patrol vessel built by ASFAT (Turkish state military company). The ship has a length of 99.5 meters and a displacement of 2,300 tons. Here more technical details about the ship.

From this class so far only two such ships have been built for Turkish naval forces, but none have been equipped yet.

Some question marks

One of the problems raised by the people in the industry with whom Hotnews discussed is the endowment of such a ship. The Hisar class opv comes with Turkish systems and armaments on it.

Specifically, the CMS (Combat Management System-practically the brain of the ship) is a locally developed solution by Turkey on which their own systems are integrated and where Western equipment or armaments are not integrated.

In other words, Romania will have to purchase weapons and equipment from Turkey to integrate with the rest of its features.

The clearest example would be anti-naval missiles. Romania has already chosen the NSM (Naval Strike Missile) missile model developed by Americans from Raytheon and Norwegians in Kongsberg. These are dedicated to coastal batteries and for the modernization and arming of rocket carriers. NSM missiles are not integrated into Turkish ships and are unlikely to be ever integrated.

In addition, the same sources in the industry say that the operationalization in Romania of a ship with specific specifications and systems in Turkey could take years, as long as the construction of a ship would last according to the Romanian specifications and with Western systems.

A single ship is an unusual option

Another sensitive aspect is that Romania buys a ship, one.

The field experts consulted by HotNews say that, normally, for the development and maintenance of a real fighting capability, the military navy is equipped with at least two, three or more vessels of the same type, of operational reasons, of scales and combined power of struggle.

Usually, one ship is on a mission, while another is in maintenance or performs training missions, so that the “capability” is always preserved operational.

Thus, we reach the situation in which the naval forces are equipped with a single ship in Turkey, a “lonely wolf” with systems, installations, equipment and armaments completely compared to the rest of the vessels, old or new.

It is also discussed for building in Galati

And to make it even harder to understand the decision to buy a single ship in Turkey, according to HotNews sources, MAPN negotiates in parallel for the construction of two other military vessels with another builder, for another ship model.

Specifically, the MAPN discusses with Damen the construction of two OPV type ships in Romania, in Galați.

Sources in the industry say that the two ships would be of the OPV 2600 type and will be equipped and armed as corvettes with Western systems, with a cost of the program of almost 400-500 million euros for the two fully equipped and armed ships, with a delivery time for almost two years for the first ship.

The Damen OPV 2600 vessels have a length of 98 meters, a 2,600 ton displacement and are quite similar to the Sigma 10514 corvette model with which the builder has participated in the auction a few years ago.

The systems and weapons on the OPV ships would be western (CMS from Lockheed Martin or Tacticos from Thales, NSM antinava rockets, western sonar and radars, as well as anti -aircraft missiles).

The differences from the Corveta Sigma are related to the lack of the sonar in the keel, some constructive elements of stealth -type (hard detectable by the radar), as well as some reinforced structures from the central and control modules of the ships.

The Galati yard delivered 30 ships to 13 states

The decision to go to ships built in Galați is a good one, the Romanian builders say, even if it comes with a huge delay.

The Galati naval site has been building for years, on a treadmill, civilian vessels and military ships. At the active site the site has over 30 military ships delivered to 13 states, of which NATO and EU countries.

Only in 2024 nine military vessels for Pakistan and the Netherlands were delivered.

And we are not talking about small ships. For the Netherlands in 2024 the site built and delivered a huge logistics support ship, an 180 -meter ship and a 22,000 -tone displacement.

For Germany, the engineering unit of the Damen yard in Galați deals with the design of the German F126 frigates, and for Belgium and the Netherlands the site design and builds six anti-submarine (AWSF), ships with over 6,600 tons.

And for the Netherlands, Damen Galați builds in Romania two specialized ships, of modern conception for the sea, but will start the construction of four frigates from the Future Air Defender (Fuad) program, a program that will extend after 2030.

There are factual information, they are the up -to -date data of a Romanian naval site where 2,000 people are employed, to which are added over 1,000 employees of the subcontractors. A military industrial capability that thrives in Romania, but with which the Romanian state so far has been left to start major projects. Now the signs are that it will start working, but after the purchase of a corvette in Turkey.