TCG GIRESUN (F491) is a Turkish Navy Gabya-class guided-missile frigate, originally built in the United States as the Oliver Hazard Perry-class USS ANTRIM (FFG-20). Constructed by Todd Pacific Shipyards in Seattle, the frigate was launched in 1979 and commissioned into the U.S. Navy on 26 September 1981. After almost fifteen years of American service, ANTRIM was decommissioned in 1996 and subsequently transferred to Türkiye, becoming TCG GIRESUN.
The ship has since undergone an extensive Turkish modernisation programme. Unlike her original U.S. Navy configuration, GIRESUN today incorporates the Turkish GENESIS combat management system, SMART-S Mk2 3D radar and an additional 8-cell Mk41 Vertical Launching System capable of carrying up to 32 ESSM surface-to-air missiles. This makes her one of the four more extensively upgraded Gabya-class frigates.
Vessel Details
Name: TCG GIRESUN
Former Name: USS ANTRIM
Pennant Number: F491
Former Pennant: FFG-20
Navy: Turkish Naval Forces
Class: Gabya class
Original Class: Oliver Hazard Perry class
Current MMSI: 271035033
Call Sign: TBOF
Builder: Todd Pacific Shipyards, Seattle, Washington, USA
Keel Laid: 21 June 1978
Launched: 27 March 1979
Commissioned – U.S. Navy: 26 September 1981
Decommissioned – U.S. Navy: 8 May 1996
Transferred to Türkiye: 27 August 1998*
Length Overall: approx. 136 m
Beam: approx. 14 m
Draught: approx. 6.7 m
Full Load Displacement: approx. 4,100 t
Propulsion: 2 × General Electric LM2500 gas turbines
Power: approx. 41,000 shp / 31 MW
Propulsion: Single shaft, controllable-pitch propeller
Maximum Speed: over 29 knots
Range: approx. 4,500–5,000 nautical miles depending on speed
Current Status: Active, 2026.
From USS ANTRIM to TCG GIRESUN
USS ANTRIM was named after Rear Admiral Richard Nott Antrim, a U.S. Navy officer and Medal of Honor recipient. She was laid down in 1978, launched in 1979 and joined the U.S. Atlantic Fleet in 1981. ANTRIM later served with the Naval Reserve Force before being decommissioned in May 1996.
She was subsequently transferred to Türkiye under the U.S. Security Assistance programme and renamed TCG GIRESUN, after the Turkish city and province on the Black Sea coast.
Her identity history is therefore simply:
USS ANTRIM (FFG-20) → TCG GIRESUN (F491)
There is a discrepancy over the exact transfer year. Some databases give 27 August 1997, but the detailed NavSource chronology records the formal Grant Aid transfer as 27 August 1998. For PiraeuShips I would use 1998, while avoiding presenting the contradictory 1997 date as equally certain.
GENESIS Modernisation
The most important thing missing from your current PiraeuShips page is that the ship you see today is substantially different from the original American Perry-class configuration.
Türkiye modernised all eight Gabya-class frigates with the locally developed GENESIS – Gemi Entegre Savaş İdare Sistemi – combat management system. HAVELSAN completed the G-class GENESIS modernisation programme in 2012.
GIRESUN was then one of four ships — together with GEDIZ F495, GÖKOVA F496 and GÖKSU F497 — to receive the more extensive air-defence upgrade, including:
8-cell Mk41 VLS
Up to 32 RIM-162 ESSM missiles
SMART-S Mk2 3D surveillance radar
Upgraded Mk92 fire-control system
GENESIS combat management system.
The original Mk13 single-arm launcher was retained for SM-1MR Standard and Harpoon missiles, while the ship also retains a 76 mm OTO Melara gun, Phalanx CIWS and Mk32 torpedo launchers.
182 Days Continuously at Sea
A particularly interesting chapter in GIRESUN's career came in 2020.
The Turkish Ministry of National Defence reported that the frigate remained continuously at sea for 182 days between March and September 2020, without entering a port, while conducting operations and training activities in the Mediterranean. The deployment established a Turkish Navy endurance record at the time.
That makes GIRESUN considerably more interesting historically than simply describing her as an old former American frigate.
Still Active in 2026
Despite having originally entered service with the U.S. Navy in 1981, TCG GIRESUN remains operational in 2026, around 45 years after commissioning.
Current AIS data in September 2026 identifies TCG GIRESUN F491 under the Turkish flag using MMSI 271035033, with a recent position report from the Sea of Marmara while underway at approximately 13.6 knots.
Piraeus Connection
TCG GIRESUN forms part of the PiraeuShips warship archive, with the original page published in January 2020. That page preserves her Turkish Navy identity but mostly reproduces the specifications of the original Oliver Hazard Perry configuration rather than the significantly upgraded Turkish configuration.
The updated page should therefore emphasise not only her origin as USS ANTRIM, but also the extensive GENESIS / Mk41 / ESSM modernisation that transformed the ship during her Turkish service.
PiraeuShips Record
TCG GIRESUN F491 was documented by PiraeuShips during her long service with the Turkish Naval Forces. Originally commissioned into the U.S. Navy in 1981 as USS ANTRIM FFG-20, the frigate was later transferred to Türkiye and extensively modernised with the GENESIS combat management system, SMART-S Mk2 radar and Mk41 VLS for ESSM missiles. Still operational more than four decades after her original commissioning, GIRESUN represents one of the most extensively upgraded surviving examples of the Oliver Hazard Perry design.
Original video footage © PiraeuShips. All rights reserved.
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