Turkey’s Anadolu military shipyard has sent another cadet training ship to Qatar. The vessel is the latest addition to the Gulf country’s navy as military and defense ties between Doha and Ankara continue to strengthen.
The second of two vessels produced by Turkish naval defense contractor ADIK was delivered to Qatar’s military Saturday.
The armed ships are each 90 meters (295 feet) in length, they include helipads for medium-size helicopters and are designed to provide combat management and weapon training to military students. The vessels are also designed to perform secondary missions as well, such as patrol tasks and armed combat training.
Back in March 2018, Qatar and its Turkish ally signed a contract at the Doha International Naval Defense Fair and Conference aimed at strengthening Doha-Ankara military relations.
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Upon the signed contract, ADIK launched the project to design and build two military training ships manufactured for the Qatar Naval Forces, the first was delivered in October 2020.
A ceremony to mark the launching of the first shipment, was held at Istanbul’s Tuzla port on October 8th, in the presence of both countries’ defense ministers.
“We have been exerting great efforts for about three years for these ships that have special areas for both cadets and instructors and are designed by our shipyard engineers. A study was conducted for about a year and a half for the technical requirements of the ship. With the completion of this process, in August 2017 Qatar decided to procure the ships,” said Anadolu Shipyard Chairman, Süalp Ürkmez.
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