MİLGEM is Turkiye's national warship program, represented here by the Ada-class anti-submarine corvette that STM markets and exports as a compact surface combatant. The Ada design combines patrol, anti-submarine, surface-warfare, air-defense, naval-gunfire-support, and maritime-surveillance roles in a 99.56 m corvette. Ukraine ordered two STM-led Ada-class corvettes before the full-scale invasion; official Ukrainian and STM sources document construction, crew training, launch, and sea-acceptance trials during the 2014 Russia-Ukraine War, while also noting that wartime conditions postponed transfer to Ukraine.
Ukraine's STM-led Ada-class corvettes were built and trialed in Turkiye during the war; official Ukrainian reporting says Ivan Mazepa was intended as the future Navy flagship, Ukrainian crews trained aboard it, and transfer was postponed because of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Role detailsThe Ukraine conflict row is procurement and force-regeneration evidence, not a combat-use claim. Official Ukrainian reporting describes Ada-class corvettes for the Ukrainian Naval Forces, training by Ukrainian Navy personnel, and postponed transfer because of Russia's war against Ukraine. STM documents the same program as a two-corvette project built in Turkiye, with Hetman Ivan Mazepa in sea acceptance trials from May 2024 and Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi launched in August 2024.
No checked source documents a Ukrainian MİLGEM corvette conducting combat operations in Ukrainian waters.
The source-backed link is Ukraine's wartime acquisition, crew training, trials, and delayed transfer under Black Sea war conditions.
The broader MİLGEM family includes corvette and frigate branches; this record's conflict row is limited to the Ada-class corvettes built for Ukraine.
Sources: STM Ukrainian Corvette Project; President of Ukraine corvette inspection; Naval News Ivan Mazepa sea trials; STM Ada Class Corvette.
The catalog record focuses on the Ada-class corvette within the broader MİLGEM family because the Ukraine conflict evidence concerns Ada-class corvettes built for the Ukrainian Navy.
| Variant | Configuration | Designation notes |
|---|---|---|
| Ada-class corvette | Anti-submarine warfare corvette | STM presents the Ada-class as a corvette able to identify and engage air, surface, and underwater targets while performing maritime surveillance, patrol, infrastructure protection, and exclusive-economic-zone monitoring. Sources: STM Ada Class Corvette |
| Ukrainian Ada-class corvette | Ukraine export configuration | STM's Ukrainian Corvette Project covers two corvettes built in Turkiye, including Hetman Ivan Mazepa and Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi. Sources: STM Ukrainian Corvette Project |
| İstif-class / MİLGEM fifth ship | Frigate branch of the broader MİLGEM program | Turkiye's Presidency of Defence Industries identifies the fifth MİLGEM ship as the first İstif-class frigate, separate from the Ada-class corvette scope used for this conflict row. Sources: SSB MİLGEM 5th Ship Project |
The Ada-class page and Ukraine sea-trial reporting identify several combat-system fits. The published catalog links below use existing records where the relationship is directly supported without treating uncommissioned Ukrainian corvettes as combat-deployed ships.
| Carried item | Item type | Carriage evidence |
|---|---|---|
 | 76 mm naval gun | STM lists a 76 mm main gun for the Ada-class corvette, and Naval News identified a Leonardo 76 mm Super Rapid gun with stealth cupola on Hetman Ivan Mazepa during sea-trial footage. Sources: STM Ada Class Corvette, Naval News Ivan Mazepa sea trials |
 | Anti-ship missile family | STM lists Harpoon as the Ada-class surface-to-surface missile fit; Naval News separately reported Ukrainian media claims that Ukraine's corvette armament plan used Harpoon as the primary strike missile. Sources: STM Ada Class Corvette, Naval News Ivan Mazepa sea trials |
Reference reporting on the program states that Istanbul Naval Shipyard Command established the MİLGEM Project Office in 2004 to coordinate the indigenous corvette's design, engineering, and construction work.
Sources: Euro-SD MİLGEM Programme
STM lists TCG Heybeliada as entering Turkish Naval Forces Command service on 27 September 2011, followed by three more Ada-class ships through 2019.
Sources: STM MİLGEM Project
STM says it signed the Ukrainian Corvette Project contract with Ukraine's Ministry of Defence on 17 December 2020, covering technology transfer and two corvettes built in Turkiye.
Sources: STM Ukrainian Corvette Project
STM records the first Ukrainian Corvette Project ship, Hetman Ivan Mazepa, as launched on 2 October 2022 after steel cutting in April 2021.
Sources: STM Ukrainian Corvette Project
The Office of the President of Ukraine reported that Ivan Mazepa was intended to become the Ukrainian Navy's future flagship and that planned transfer to Ukraine had been postponed because of Russia's war against Ukraine.
Sources: President of Ukraine corvette inspection
STM says Hetman Ivan Mazepa began sea acceptance trials on 29 May 2024; Naval News later reported Ukrainian Navy sea-trial footage in July 2024.
Sources: STM Ukrainian Corvette Project, Naval News Ivan Mazepa sea trials
STM says Hetman Ivan Vyhovskyi, the second ship in the Ukrainian Corvette Project, was launched on 1 August 2024 and scheduled for delivery in 2027.
Sources: STM Ukrainian Corvette Project
