Turkey says construction starts on indigenous air defence destroyer

ANKARA (Reuters) -Turkey said on Thursday contractors had begun building a naval air defence destroyer, adding the vessel would form part of the country's planned "Steel Dome" multi-layered air defence system.

NATO member Turkey, which in recent years has ramped up its defence industry production and reduced dependence on external suppliers, first announced plans to build its Steel Dome - similar to Israel's Iron Dome system - in July 2024.

On Wednesday, the Turkish Defence Industries Presidency, the country's top defence industry authority, said Turkish defence companies had signed $6.5 billion worth of contracts to reinforce and develop the Steel Dome.

"Construction of the first block of the first ship within the scope of the 'TF-2000 Air Defense Destroyer Project' has begun at our Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command," the ministry said at its weekly press briefing.

"Our ship, which is a part of the Steel Dome, will be built as soon as possible, and will make significant contributions to our air defence capabilities," it added.

The Steel Dome project includes 47 components, ranging from radars and missiles to electro-optical sensors, command and control centres, and air defence elements with different ranges.

(Reporting by Tuvan Gumrukcu, Editing by William Maclean)

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