UK’s Fleet Solid Support ship programme deemed on track despite steel supply concerns
Shipbuilders are saying the programme is going ahead on time as the government estimates 7.7 million tonnes of steel are needed for 2026 infrastructure projects.
The KATMANSIS cavitation tunnel opened in a ceremony on 17 December 2021. (Photo: SSB)
Turkish efforts to develop indigenous stealthy propulsion systems for submarines and surface vessels should be aided by the recent opening of the KATMANSIS large cavitation tunnel testbed in Istanbul.
Speaking at the opening ceremony for the testbed on 17 December at the Istanbul Technical University (ITU) Faculty of Naval Architecture and Ocean Sciences, Ismail Demir, the head of the Turkish defence procurement body SSB, claimed that KATMANSIS will ‘play a vital role in our national technological transition’.
This tunnel was built by Turkish firm Gürdesan to a design by Polish company CTO and ITU. It is 5.5m long, 1.5m tall
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Shipbuilders are saying the programme is going ahead on time as the government estimates 7.7 million tonnes of steel are needed for 2026 infrastructure projects.
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