The first of eight 2,000-ton MilGem - or Milli Gemi (National Ship) - corvettes on order for the Turkish Navy was launched at Istanbul Naval Shipyard on 27 September. Heybeliada is also the first surface combatant designed and developed by Turkish military and civilian engineers. Indigenous content totalled around 80 per cent, according to Admiral Metin Atac, commander of the Turkish Navy Forces Command. Laid down in July 2005, the 99 m-long vessel is scheduled to begin sea trials on 25 October 2010 before commissioning and entering service in 2011. The MilGem programme commenced in 1996, but contractual demands and funding problems delayed a final agreement between government and industry.
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