TCG Gemlik (F 492) Ex-USS Flatley (FFG-21) From Turkish Navy Off Libya

TCG Gemlik (F 492)/Photo US Navy

USS Flatley (FFG-21) was the thirteenth ship of the Oliver Hazard Perry class of guided-missile frigates. She was named for Vice Admiral James H. Flatley (1906–1958), a leading Naval Aviation tactician from World War II who flew the F4F Wildcat in the Battle of Coral Sea and subsequently commanded the VF-10 Grim Reapers taking them into combat for the first time.
Ordered from Bath Iron Works on 28 February 1977 as part of the FY77 program, Flatley's keel was laid down on 13 November 1979. She was launched on 15 May 1980, and commissioned on 20 June 1981. Decommissioned on 11 May 1996, she was sold to Turkey on 27 August 1998.

TCG Gemlik (F 492)

The ship immediately underwent conversion into a Turkish G class frigate. She serves in the Turkish Navy as TCG Gemlik (F 492).
Flatley (FFG-21) was the first ship of that name in the US Navy.

The G class (Turkish: Gabya sınıfı fırkateyn(ler)) is one of the frigate classes of the Turkish Navy. They are extensively modernized versions of ex-Oliver Hazard Perry class guided-missile frigates, mainly designed for air defense with a weapons configuration that is optimized for general warfare.

G Class Frigates

The G class frigates have undergone a major modernization program which included the retrofitting of a Turkish digital combat management system named GENESIS (Gemi Entegre Savaş İdare Sistemi). The system was designed and implemented jointly by the Turkish Navy and Havelsan, a Turkish electronic hardware systems and software company. The first GENESIS upgraded ship was delivered in 2007, and the last delivery is scheduled for 2011.
The GENESIS advanced combat management system includes the following characteristics and abilities:

• A modern and reliable system
• High performance
• Open architecture
• Capacity of tracking more than 1,000 tactical targets
• Modern digital sensor data fusion
• Automatic threat evaluation
• Weapon engagement opportunities
• Link-16/22 system integration

The modernization program also includes:

• The addition of an 8-cell Mk-41 VLS for Evolved Sea Sparrow, including the upgrade of the Mk-92 fire control system by Lockheed Martin;
• The retrofitting of a new advanced 3D air search radar;
• The addition of a new long range sonar

The Mk-41 VLS will be fitted in front of the Mk.13 launchers, similar to their installation on the Adelaide-class frigates of the Royal Australian Navy, which are Australian-built derivatives of the Oliver Hazard Perry class frigates.
The "short hull" ex-Perry class frigates that are currently being operated by the Turkish Navy were modified with the ASIST landing platform system at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, so that they can accommodate the S-70B Seahawk helicopter