Analysis: Discover how Türkiye’s first air defense destroyer TF-2000 will protect its fleet against missile threats.

As reported by Türkiye Today on August 18, 2025, Türkiye has officially moved forward with its first indigenous air defense destroyer, the TF-2000, a program long planned under the framework of the MILGEM national shipbuilding effort. At IDEF 2025, ASFAT and the Turkish Navy signed a construction agreement for the lead unit, with steel cutting scheduled for November 2025 at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard. The destroyer is expected to be launched in 2028 and delivered to the fleet in 2030.
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In fleet operations, air defense destroyers, such as the TF-2000, provide early warning, tracking capabilities, and engagement coordination against attacks that may include cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, aircraft, and uncrewed systems. (Picture source: ASFAT)

The contract signed at IDEF 2025 between ASFAT CEO Mustafa Ilbaş and Turkish Navy Commander Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu covers one air defense destroyer, but the Turkish Navy’s long-term requirement envisions up to eight vessels. Each hull will be assembled in approximately 60 blocks, with ASFAT planning to complete one block before the end of 2025. This program is intended to fill a gap in Türkiye’s naval forces, which currently lack a ship dedicated specifically to area air defense and ballistic missile defense.

An air defense destroyer, like the TF-2000, is a guided‑missile warship optimized to detect, track, and intercept a wide spectrum of aerial threats before they can strike high‑value targets or critical infrastructure. Unlike multipurpose ships that balance surface, subsurface, and limited air defense roles, air defense destroyers concentrate a large portion of their displacement, power generation, and combat system integration into high-duty radar arrays and high-capacity vertical launch systems for surface-to-air missiles. Their combat management systems integrate real-time information from onboard sensors, airborne assets, and land-based radars to produce an overall situational picture and manage engagements. These ships also host layers of electronic warfare suites, decoys, and point-defense weapons to provide multiple opportunities to intercept incoming threats.

The role of such a platform is both protective and strategic. In a fleet escort mission, an air defense destroyer provides surveillance and missile interception in defense of capital ships such as aircraft carriers, amphibious assault ships, or large logistics vessels. In homeland defense roles, it plugs into national air defense networks to provide additional layers of missile interception beyond land-based systems. Its purpose is to extend the defensive envelope against cruise missiles, ballistic missiles, aircraft, and uncrewed systems, ensuring that naval task groups can operate in contested regions and that national coastlines remain protected against aerial strikes. The ability to detect and destroy targets across short, medium, and long ranges allows these destroyers to function as central nodes in integrated air and missile defense.

Compared to other destroyer types, an air defense destroyer differs by prioritizing specialized radar and missile capacity. The TF-2000, for example, will incorporate dual-band active electronically scanned array (AESA) radars, a system capable of fusing sensor data from ships, aircraft, and shore networks; and a vertical launch system (VLS) with 96 cells, whereas general-purpose destroyers typically carry fewer interceptors and a more balanced mix of anti-ship and anti-submarine weapons. Air defense destroyers are usually larger to accommodate heavier radar masts, greater cooling requirements, and structural reinforcement for vibration and shock. This design focus sometimes reduces the relative number of anti-surface missile launchers or aviation facilities, but the tradeoff results in a ship capable of countering large-scale aerial attacks. In practice, such destroyers serve as the primary defensive layer for task forces and are often the most expensive and technically demanding surface ships in a navy.

Several countries maintain or develop destroyers dedicated to air and missile defense, highlighting the relevance of this ship type. The United States Navy operates the Arleigh Burke and Zumwalt classes, both with the Aegis combat system and ballistic missile defense roles. Japan fields the Maya and Atago classes with ballistic missile defense (BMD) capability, while South Korea has commissioned the Sejong the Great class. China deploys the Type 052D and the larger Type 055 for air defense, and European navies use classes such as the United Kingdom’s Type 45, France and Italy’s Horizon and Andrea Doria destroyers, and Spain’s Álvaro de Bazán class. Türkiye now moves to join this group with a domestically designed and built vessel tailored to its regional air and missile defense needs.

The refined mast and electronic warfare layout unveiled during IDEF 2025 aim to balance the field of view, mutual interference, and structural support for large arrays, while maintaining low observables and shock resistance required for high‑threat environments. (Picture source: ASFAT)

The TF-2000 will be 149 meters long with a displacement of approximately 8,300 tons, a beam of 21.3 meters, and a draft of 5.75 meters. Propulsion is based on a combined diesel and gas turbine system, expected to provide speeds above 26 knots, with cruising at 17 knots. The vessel will be able to sustain operations for up to 45 days without replenishment and 180 days without base support. Service life is projected at over 40 years. Crew requirements are estimated between 180 and 210, with accommodations possible for up to 240. The ship will have a helicopter landing pad rated for 15-ton aircraft and hangar facilities for two 10-ton helicopters or a combination of helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles. Endurance and survivability are enhanced by reduced radar, infrared, acoustic, and magnetic signatures, together with provisions for operations in nuclear, biological, and chemical environments.

Sensor and radar integration represent a core aspect of the TF-2000. Aselsan’s CAFRAD dual-band AESA radar suite consists of the X-band ÇFR multi-function radar, positioned on the lower mast for precision tracking, and the larger S-band UMR long-range radar, used for wide-area surveillance. This suite is designed to detect and track over 2,000 targets at ranges up to 450 kilometers. Fixed electronic warfare arrays are mounted above the CFR panels, complementing the radar coverage and providing both electronic support and electronic attack. Bow-mounted and towed array sonar, laser warning systems, electro-optical directors, and low-probability-of-intercept navigation radar round out the sensor suite. Together with the ADVENT combat management system, these sensors will link into joint C4ISR networks to allow integration with land and air defense elements.

The destroyer’s armament is centered on the 96-cell MIDLAS vertical launch system, split with 32 cells forward and 64 cells amidships. Missiles expected for integration include the Siper long-range surface-to-air missile family, Hisar-D, SAPAN, and potentially the TÜBİTAK-developed G-40. Strike capability will be provided by Atmaca anti-ship missiles and Gezgin land-attack cruise missiles, which could reach targets more than 1,000 kilometers away. The ship will also carry VL-ASROC for anti-submarine warfare. Main gun armament is a 127 mm system currently being developed domestically by MKE. Additional defensive weapons include the Gökdeniz close-in weapon system, a point-defense missile system such as Aselsan Göksur or Roketsan Levent, and stabilized remote-controlled weapons. Torpedo launchers will deploy Orka lightweight torpedoes, providing a layered anti-submarine capability.

Additional features illustrate the multipurpose and future-oriented design of the TF-2000. Aviation facilities are planned for Sikorsky S-70B Seahawk helicopters and for UAVs equipped with torpedoes or anti-ship missiles, expanding surveillance and strike range. The design allows for integration of emerging technologies such as swarm-capable UAVs, unmanned surface vessels, and potentially electromagnetic railguns. Soft-kill defenses include decoy launchers, electronic countermeasures, and directed infrared countermeasures. Turkish sources have also mentioned directed-energy weapons such as high-energy lasers under consideration for later upgrades. These capabilities would enable the ship to adapt to evolving aerial threats, including massed drone attacks.

Design updates unveiled at IDEF 2025 underscore both engineering and doctrinal ambitions for the class. On the engineering side, the refined mast and electronic warfare layout aim to balance field of view, mutual interference, and structural support for large arrays, while maintaining low observables and shock resistance required for high‑threat environments. On the doctrinal side, Turkish defense analysis highlights that assigning ballistic missile defense to a naval platform implies new patterns of authority sharing and data exchange with the Air Force, with an emphasis on real‑time sensor fusion among air, land, and sea nodes for effective engagements. The ship is also being considered as a host for emerging capabilities, including swarm‑capable unmanned aerial vehicles and armed unmanned surface craft for asymmetric tasks.

Within the Turkish Navy’s order of battle, the TF-2000 is intended to anchor fleet air defense and to operate as an escort and command node for large amphibious and carrier‑style aviation platforms. Program descriptions place the destroyer alongside TCG Anadolu and the future MUGEM aircraft carrier concept in expeditionary strike groups, where it would provide area defense against aircraft and missiles while contributing to anti‑surface and anti‑submarine screens. That role is consistent with the ship’s sensor and missile capacity and with the stated aim to integrate fully with joint C4ISR networks across services for homeland and fleet defense. The timing of the lead unit and the potential for a multi‑ship class would allow Türkiye to replace ad hoc air defense arrangements with a purpose‑built capability as its blue‑water force structure matures, while also securing national waters in the Mediterranean, Aegean, and Black Seas. The TF-2000 will thus serve as the backbone of Türkiye’s future surface fleet, positioned to protect capital ships and to extend layered defense to the mainland as part of the country’s “Blue Homeland” maritime doctrine.