Türkiye’s homegrown submarine to reach greater depths with high-grade steel

Türkiye's homegrown submarine project MILDEN will be empowered by the military-grade HY-100 steel, domestically produced by Turkish industrial group OYAK.

Murat Yalcintas, general manager of OYAK, told Anadolu that global suppliers often restrict the export of such steel, requiring steel of this caliber to be produced domestically to reach deep-submergence capabilities.

Yalcintas, speaking on the sidelines of the tech and aerospace event TEKNOFEST Southeast, stated that the iron ore extracted nationwide is processed at local facilities to be transformed into high-value-added products produced within the country.

"The HY-100 is a highly durable steel with unique properties, allowing a submarine to dive to depths far deeper than the norm, and it's not possible to import a steel of this caliber produced at the highest quality, so with the steel that we produce, Turkish submarines will be able to reach the depths they need," he said.

Yalcintas stated that OYAK is also focusing its investment strategy on dual-use technologies serving both military and commercial actors with high-performance armored and structural steel produced at domestic plants and currently deployed across homegrown flagship defense platforms, including the Altay main battle tank, armored combat vehicles, and naval warships.

He noted that these steel alloys can be used in heavy civilian applications, ranging from mining equipment to electric vehicle (EV) manufacturing.

Yalcintas mentioned that the firm's Romanian plant will be upgraded to produce ultra-thin electrical steel sheets that are just 0.1 millimeters thick, utilizing high-grade steel refined at the Isdemir plant's new vacuum treatment facility in Türkiye.

"Türkiye will become one of the five to six countries capable of producing steel of this grade, quality, and thinness," he said.

He added that OYAK is also investing in autonomous land vehicles to perform heavy logistics and agricultural tasks alongside tactical defense roles.

Türkiye's premier tech, defense, and aviation event TEKNOFEST's southeastern leg kicked off on Wednesday in the province of Sanliurfa, gathering tech enthusiasts, young investors, and thousands of visitors until Oct. 14.