Romania commissions new corvette

The Romanian Naval Forces corvette Contraamiral August Roman (261), was commissioned in June 2026. (Romanian Naval Forces)

The Romanian Naval Forces commissioned its corvette Contraamiral August Roman (261) in June 2026.

Originally built for the Turkish Naval Forces by Turkish company Asfat at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard as offshore patrol vessel Akhisar, the ship was sold to Romania before entering Turkish service. The Akhisar's sister ship, TCG Koçhisar (P-1221), has been commissioned into the Turkish navy as the first of its Hisar-class offshore patrol vessels (OPVs).

Procured by Romania in December 2025 in a contract worth EUR223 million (USD261 million), Contraamiral August Roman represents the first delivery of a Turkish-built warship to a European Union and NATO member state.

It has:

The primary missions of th ships include intelligence, surveillance and reconnaissance (ISR) and maritime special operations.The final weapon and sensor configuration of the ship is subject to change as it is being built ‘for but not with' various systems. It currently has:

However the eventual Romanian and Turkish outfits of the vessels are expected to differ. The Romanian Naval Forces said in June that they will spend EUR42 million in the second half of 2026 to procure additional weapons for the vessel, including:

The service also said that it intends to equip the ship with naval strike missile (NSM) anti-ship missiles through the EU's SAFE (Security Action for Europe) funding programme.

For more, please see: Special report: Romania orders Lynx IFVs, C-UASs, ammunition, and naval vessels from Rheinmetall