[1][4] On 28 December 2006, the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries of the Turkish Ministry of National Defense issued a request for proposal, which was revised on 12 July 2007.

By 22 November 2007, companies such as the DCNS of France, Navantia of Spain, and a German/British consortium consisting of Howaldtswerke-Deutsche Werft GmbH (HDW) and Marine Force International LLP (MFI) had submitted proposals.

After completing the evaluation process, the decision was announced on 22 July 2008 to start contract negotiations first with HDW/MFI.

The diesel-electric Type 214 submarine of ThyssenKrupp featuring an air-independent propulsion (AIP) system was selected, and the program begin was set to early 2009.

[8] The six submarines of the class are planned for delivery to the Turkish Navy at one year intervals beginning with the lead boat in 2023.