Turkey will sign an agreement Thursday with Germany to jointly build six submarines for the Turkish Naval Forces, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported.

The deal covers six Class-214 air-independent propulsion submarines for the Turkish Naval Forces and will significantly improve the navy's capability to undertake longer underwater operations, the report cited a statement by the German embassy in Ankara as saying.

The Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW), which is part of the German ship-building giant Thyssen Krupp Marine Systems, and Turkey's Golcuk Naval Shipyard based in the Kocaeli Province will participate in the production, said the report.

It didn't disclose financial details, but quoted Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul as saying that Turkish industrial participation in the project would be worth around 80 percent of the total value of the deal.

The HDW will preassemble structural and mechanical parts of the submarines, or classified elements such as the fuel cells and propulsion systems, in Germany and then ship them to Turkey, according to the report.

All electronic and weapon systems, including sensor, communications, and data processing systems, will be designed and produced by the Turkish side.

Senior Turkish and German government officials and naval forces commanders will attend the signing ceremony scheduled on Thursday, said the report.

Source: Xinhua