On Monday, Turkey launched its largest warship. TCG Anadolu, the multi-purpose amphibious assault ship intended to be Turkey’s flagship, is a symbol of “Turkey’s century,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.
In Ukrainian. In Ukrainian!
I want!
TCG Anadolu became not only Turkey’s first aircraft carrier. It is also the world’s first airship with an aircraft wing that consists mainly of UAVs. According to Erdogan, both unmanned and manned aircraft will be placed on the ship.
Based on the Spanish flagship Juan Carlos I, TCG Anadolu is an amphibious assault ship of the LHD (Landing Helicopter Dock) type. Its length is 231 meters, width – 32 meters, and displacement – 27,436 tons. It has a top speed of about 21 knots (about 38.9 km/h), a range of 9,000 nautical miles (about 16,700 km) and can stay at sea for 50 days.
The creation of the ship was ordered in 2015. The vessel was laid down in February 2018 and launched in April 2019. It was planned to put the ship into operation in 2021, but due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the plans had to be revised.
The TCG Anadolu was originally intended to act as a standard amphibious assault ship and carry a fleet of helicopters and short takeoff and vertical landing fighters such as the Lockheed Martin F-35B. But against the background of the conflict with the USA due to Turkey’s purchase of Russian S-400 systems, changes were made to the project. TCG Anadolu decided to transform into a carrier (except for helicopters) of unmanned aerial vehicles, strike drones and unmanned fighters.
The aircraft wing of the ship is expected to consist mainly of the Bayraktar TB3 UAV – a modified version of the Bayraktar TB2 for short runways. The public demonstration of this modification is expected at the end of April, and the testing phase should be completed by the end of 2023. The new platform will be able to fold wings, have telecommunications capabilities, be able to conduct reconnaissance, surveillance, intelligence gathering and attack targets.
In addition, the Baykar Kızılelma unmanned fighter jet equipped with a Ukrainian turbojet engine will be able to take off and land at TCG Anadolu. This aircraft looks like 5th generation fighters. In addition to the usual drone missions, Kızılelma is expected to be able to conduct air-to-air combat operations.
In addition to drones, TCG Anadolu will host helicopters, including Turkish T129 Atak, AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters and SH-70B general purpose helicopters. The ship has 6 places where helicopters (transport, attack or general purpose) of medium capacity can land and take off, as well as 2 additional places of heavy cargo helicopters. TCG Anadolu will be able to host a battalion-sized force, complete with flight and command personnel.
A warship can carry dozens of light and heavy armored vehicles, including wheeled and tracked ones. On its lightweight deck, it can carry up to 30 wheeled vehicles, including armored amphibious vehicles and armored personnel carriers. The hangar of the ship allows the transportation of at least 12 helicopters of medium carrying capacity.
Depending on the combat missions, the number of helicopters and armored vehicles transported can be changed. Thus, the number of aircraft can be increased due to additional helicopters placed on the deck of light vehicles. A heavy vehicle platform on top of the aircraft carrier provides transportation of heavy and tracked vehicles such as tanks (up to 45 units).
Source: dailysabah
