Turkey has successfully sent all ordered Bayraktar combat drones to buyers who opted for a cheaper system. Still, a new Mini-Submarine STM500 is in the works that should become a popular weapon system.
An expert predicts that it will be a gamechanger for many buyers who don't want bigger or expensive subs at the mini-submarines cost. Sixteen countries that bought the Bayraktar might opt for the STM500 if it is affordable.
Ankara's new defense combat weapon
Turkish weapon makers are looking at a mini-submarine that can operate in 'Blue Homeland,' which are seas around the country, remarked an unidentified Turkish defense and maritime researcher who spoke to the Daily Sabah.
Kozan Selçuk Erkan told the media that Turkey could build such armament with its process of envisioning the weapon system's final iteration.
He added that Turkish defense firms learned how to build subs from programs still active from their beginnings in the 1980s, reported the Eurasian Times.
Since then, the process has improved with new skills learned by those engaged in submarine production.
Small but terrible vessels
Last August, STM, a Turk defense firm, showed its concept for mini-sub, a small assault 540-tonner submersible. When its maker announced it, the mini-sub was the smallest one in Turkey, noted Defense World.
In the 10th Naval Systems Seminar, the firm told the media that the sub would be built in 2022.
By 2022 all the activities of the STM firm are how to get more support to start building the Mini-Submarine STM500-getting the project jumpstarted as well, just like the Bayraktar combat drones.
Sources say that embargoes have affected the production of defense weapons which is unfortunate. STM said their defense offering would not be affected by sanctions on Ankara's defense industries. The approach will be similar to the uncrewed aerial vehicle 'Bayraktar.'
Canada has sanctioned Turkey for such violations as Azerbaijan used the Canada drones in the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict of 2020. In April 2021, it was decided to stop permits for military hardware and tech sold to Ankara. Sanctions for going ahead buying the S-400 SAM system of Russia were reported as well.
The Bayraktar UAV was given to Ukraine used in Donbas, a key industrial and social infrastructure located in the eastern part of the country. Only a few were available, so they are sortied a lot, said Yan Leshchenko, militia leader of self-proclaimed Luhansk People's Republic (LPR).
Minsk accords say that flying over combat aircraft and UAVs is not allowed in Donbas, with the independent provinces of LPR and Donetsk People's Republic as part of it.
Affordable Mini-submarines
The STM500 is designed to work in shallow seas, an attack sub-powered by diesel-electric power that is advantageous for less moneyed nations.
Inside the sub are 18-spec ops units with a crew of six that can stay submerged for a month at a depth of 250-meters. Its tubes are four and can fire all at once, arming with torpedoes or guided missiles as well.
Best used for shallow seas even operated with underwater drones, which can be used for several types of operations.
The development of the mini-submarine STM500 and Bayraktar combat drones are cheaper than those offered by the US and other nations. Emphasis on reasonable and operable is a force multiplier that costs less.
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