Burak (ex-FRA d’Estienne d’Orves)

The Burak class corvettes are former French D'Estienne d'Orves class avisos (corvettes) acquired by the Turkish Navy. These vessels are primarily designed for anti-submarine warfare and coastal patrol duties.

Developed by France in the early 1970s as the Type A69 class to protect maritime approaches and conduct coastal defense, the vessels first entered French Navy service in 1976. Turkey acquired six of these decommissioned warships between 2000 and 2002 to bolster its littoral patrol capabilities, commissioning them as the Burak class. Throughout their Turkish service, they have been actively deployed for maritime security operations in the Aegean and Mediterranean seas, including participation in NATO exercises and border surveillance. While several units have been decommissioned in recent years to make way for modern, domestically built MILGEM-class corvettes, the remaining vessels continue to serve in patrol and training roles.