An order for ships was signed by the Turkish government in April 1983 for four MEKO frigates.

The Turkish Navy has an ongoing limited modernization project for an electronic warfare suite.

Yıldırım was launched on 22 July 1988 by Gölcük Naval Shipyard and commissioned on 17 November 1989.

[1] Standing NATO Maritime Group Two (SNMG2), which consists of Álvaro de Bazán, Regina Maria, and TCG Yıldırım, participated in the bilateral U.S. - Ukraine exercise Sea Breeze 2020, between 20 and 24 July 2020.

[2] On February 17 2021, Magdeburg, KRI Sultan Hasanuddin, and TCG Yıldırım conducted an exercise in the Mediterranean Sea.