Turkey prepares espionage at sea as Ufuk enters service

The dream of the Turkish Intelligence Organization 10 years ago became a reality when the first Turkish intelligence ship started its operations last Friday. The TIG Ufuk (A-591), an ADA-class corvette, officially joined the Turkish Navy, but the ship will in fact be used by the Turkish Intelligence to gather intelligence.

Amid growing conflicts

Turkey’s struggles are increasing in the region, as it seeks to control the oil wealth of the Eastern Mediterranean, seize the resources of its neighbors Cyprus and Greece, and in Libya and Syria to capture the oil and gas wealth of both countries.

According to the Nordic Monitor, Turkish ground-based interceptors cannot reach certain areas in the Aegean Sea, particularly between the Greek islands. Turkish intelligence services are currently tracking vessels passing through the Straits with equipment deployed on both sides of the waterways.

For military purposes

“Unlike other intelligence ships in the region that are used for military purposes, the Turkish ship will be used only by the intelligence agency for espionage work”, it explained, explaining that in 2012, Turkey’s highest intelligence and interception base, the Electronic Systems Command of the General Staff, which is mandated to intercept and analyze all types of communications, radar and signals intelligence production signals, was transferred from the Turkish Armed Forces to the intelligence services, explaining that this is a result of efforts by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s government to shift the military’s ability to wiretap phone calls and monitor civilians.

Spying

The report points to a rift in the Turkish military, asserting that due to its distrust of the Turkish military, the General Staff’s Electronic Systems Command believed that it was not only eavesdropping on Turkey’s adversaries but also tracking members of the government. The Electronic Systems Command of the General Staff was renamed the Signals Intelligence Directorate after it was transferred.

Noting that Turkish intelligence services have made significant contributions to national security with their counterterrorism and foreign intelligence agencies, President Erdogan said during a ceremony on Friday, when the ship officially entered service: The organization has changed the game in Turkey’s favor with tactical intelligence obtained from the field and its operations, adding that it has also achieved success in cyber security.

Erdogan said: “Our intelligence vessel Ufuk, which we are putting into service, is a new and important opportunity for our Organization, and I believe that our strength will increase both on the sea, as well as on land and in the air, thanks to this ship, which contains modern equipment that only a very small number of intelligence agencies in the world have”.

Turkish espionage projects

According to the Nordic Monitor, Turkey has had an intelligence satellite in space since 2016, known as Gokturk 1, which was designed to meet the needs of the Turkish armed forces, and Erdogan was likely referring to new satellite projects of Turkish intelligence.

The spy ship is a total length of 99.5 meters, a maximum width of 14.4 meters, a capacity of 110 people, a total length of 2,400 tons of displacement and 3.6 meters of diving. A helicopter weighing 10 tons will be able to land on Ufuk. The ship Ufuk can navigate the open sea for 45 days without interruption in extreme climatic and marine conditions.

According to the network, Turkey had previously used the TCG Çandarlı for intelligence gathering, but experts found the vessel was too small, and not developed technically enough by experts. Ufuk is a warship that is charged with collecting information, intercepting signals and communications, rather than a cyber warfare ship. Lacking the weapons that warships carry, they will be equipped with light weapons to protect themselves from minor risks. While sailing on the high seas, she is expected to be escorted by a warship.

Turkey appears to be seeking to use its new high-seas spy ship to spy on Cyprus and Greece, trying to tip the balance in the conflict over the region’s promising gas riches.