Turkey said on Tuesday it will order six new U-214 class submarines from Germany's HDW in a deal worth around €2.5bn ($3.97bn) as part of an upgrade of its naval fleet.
The contract was won by HDW/MFI, a joint venture between Thyssen Krupp's HDW unit and UK-based Marine Force International. The size of MFI's part of the deal was not immediately clear, although a large part of the deal was from HDW.
Defence Minister Vecdi Gonul told reporters the first new air-independent but non-nuclear submarine would be delivered in 2015.
The two other bidders for the contract were France's DCNS, which is 25% owned by defence electronics company Thales, and the Spanish shipbuilder Navantia SA.
"The submarine purchase project will cost around €2.5bn," Gonul said after a meeting of a defence industry committee.
Gonul said Turkish industrial participation in the project would be worth around 80% of the total value of the deal.
A Turkish defence ministry official said around 15% of the project would be paid in advance.
By Zerin Elci and Paul de Bendern, Reuters
