The Turkish aircraft carrier promises more than it currently can. Because fighter jets will not take off from the ship for the time being.
Turkey proudly presented its first aircraft carrier on Monday, according to the government statement. Above all, helicopters and drones are to be stationed on the “TCG Anadolu”. The ship is 232 meters long and 32 meters wide and can accommodate around 1,400 people. For comparison: the US aircraft carrier of the Nimitz class is about 333 meters long, the HMS Queen Elizabeth of the British Navy 284 meters.
“This ship will enable us to conduct military and humanitarian operations in any corner of the world if required,” President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said at the opening ceremony in Istanbul. It is a symbol “that will consolidate Turkey’s regional leadership”.
Rebuilt landing craft
But the term “aircraft carrier” raises doubts. For one thing, the US has not yet delivered any F-35 jets that were supposed to take off from the ship. The background: Washington was upset because Ankara bought Russian S-400 missile defense systems. The result: back to the shipyard, conversion. On the other hand, the former commodore of the Turkish Navy, Türker Ertürk, spoke up and made it clear: “The TCG Anadolu is not an aircraft carrier, but a landing craft with a flight platform”. This can already be seen from the letter “L” in the ship’s name “L 400”, which is emblazoned on the hull. His accusation: “They call it an aircraft carrier to deceive you. They had it delivered in a hurry before the election. Without testing it.”
His assumption: The Turkish president wants to score points in the election campaign with a prestige project. Erdoğan, who has been president since 2014 and who critics are increasingly accusing of authoritarian traits, is standing for re-election in May. Polls point to a tight exit.
Drones come from Baykar
In fact, the new flagship of the Turkish Navy is a so-called “Amphibious Landing Assault” ship, actually a landing craft with a special ramp. But the Spanish sister ship Juan Carlos, which served as a template, is equipped with McDonnell Douglas AV-8B Harrier II fighter jets, among others.
Instead of airplanes, drones will now take off from the TCG Anadolu in addition to helicopters – according to the website Navalnews, these were specially developed by the Turkish company Baykar. The TB-3 version is said to have folding wings and be able to take off from the rather short runway. According to Erdoğan, the drones can also land on the ship.
