TCG ''Anadolu'' (L-400) is a drone-carrying

amphibious assault ship An amphibious assault ship is a type of warship employed to land and support ground forces on enemy territory during an armed conflict. The design evolved from aircraft carriers converted for use as helicopter carriers (which, as a result, ar ...

of the

Turkish Navy The Turkish Naval Forces (), or Turkish Navy (), is the naval warfare service branch of the TAF. The modern naval traditions and customs of the Turkish Navy can be traced back to 10 July 1920, when it was established as the ''Directorate o ...

. It is named after the peninsula of

Anatolia Anatolia (), also known as Asia Minor, is a peninsula in West Asia that makes up the majority of the land area of Turkey. It is the westernmost protrusion of Asia and is geographically bounded by the Mediterranean Sea to the south, the Aegean ...

( Turkish: ''Anadolu'') which forms the majority of the land mass of

Turkey Turkey, officially the Republic of Türkiye, is a country mainly located in Anatolia in West Asia, with a relatively small part called East Thrace in Southeast Europe. It borders the Black Sea to the north; Georgia (country), Georgia, Armen ...

. The construction works began on 30 April 2016 at the shipyard of Sedef Shipbuilding Inc. in

Istanbul Istanbul is the List of largest cities and towns in Turkey, largest city in Turkey, constituting the country's economic, cultural, and historical heart. With Demographics of Istanbul, a population over , it is home to 18% of the Demographics ...

, with the

keel The keel is the bottom-most longitudinal structural element of a watercraft, important for stability. On some sailboats, it may have a fluid dynamics, hydrodynamic and counterbalancing purpose as well. The keel laying, laying of the keel is often ...

being laid on 7 February 2018. TCG ''Anadolu'' was commissioned with a ceremony on 10 April 2023. The vessel is intended to meet the various needs and requirements of the

Turkish Armed Forces The Turkish Armed Forces (TAF; , TSK) are the armed forces, military forces of the Turkey, Republic of Turkey. The TAF consist of the Turkish Army, Land Forces, the Turkish Navy, Naval Forces and the Turkish Air Force, Air Forces. The Chief of ...

, such as sustaining long-endurance, long-distance military combat or humanitarian relief operations, while acting as a

command center A command center (often called a war room) is any place that is used to provide centralized command for some purpose. While frequently considered to be a military facility, these can be used in many other cases by governments or businesses ...

and

flagship A flagship is a vessel used by the commanding officer of a group of navy, naval ships, characteristically a flag officer entitled by custom to fly a distinguishing flag. Used more loosely, it is the lead ship in a fleet of vessels, typically ...

for the Turkish Navy. The Sedef–

Navantia Navantia is a Spanish state-owned shipbuilding enterprise dedicated to civil and military naval construction, the design of deep-tech systems and the manufacture of structures for the renewable energy sector, such as offshore wind or hydrogen. ...

consortium won the tender for the amphibious assault ship project of the Turkish Navy. ''Anadolu'' used the same design as that of the Spanish ship . All of the ship's weapon systems were procured by Turkish firms Aselsan and Havelsan.Navantia: "Navantia and local partner selected by Turkey for construction of one LPD based on the Juan Carlos I"
27 December 2013.
28 December 2013.World Maritime News: "Navantia and SEDEF Join Forces to Construct LHD and LCMs for Turkish Navy"
7 January 2014.World Maritime News: Concept design of the Turkish variant of Juan Carlos I (L-61) class BPE
/ref> The ship features a Turkish combat management system, the GENESIS-ADVENT, which was integrated by Aselsan and Havelsan. Aircraft landing is assisted in all weather condition by Leonardo SPN-720 Precision Approach Radar. Navantia provided design, technology transfer, equipment and technical assistance to Sedef Shipyard of Turkey for the design and development of ''Anadolu''.

History

Design and specifications

In December 2013, the Turkish LPD/LHD program was originally estimated to cost

€ The euro sign () is the currency sign used for the euro, the official currency of the eurozone. The design was presented to the public by the European Commission on 12 December 1996. It consists of a stylized letter E (or epsilon), crossed by t ...

375 million ($500 million). According to the original plan, the Turkish Navy wanted a slightly shorter flight deck without the ski-jump ramp in front, to be optimized for use with only helicopters."Turkey signs contract with Navantia-Sedef for the construction of a light aircraft carrier"
Dartmouth Centre for Seapower and Strategy, Plymouth University, 11 May 2015. The Turkish Navy later changed its plan and opted for a fully equipped flight deck with the ski-jump ramp in front, after deciding to purchase F-35B

STOVL A short take-off and vertical landing aircraft (STOVL aircraft) is a fixed-wing aircraft that is able to take off from a short runway (or take off vertically if it does not have a heavy payload) and land vertically (i.e. with no runway). The ...

aircraft."The Contract For LPD Construction Has Been Signed"
Bosphorus Naval News, 19 May 2015. Turkey was a Level 3 partner in the

Joint Strike Fighter program Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) is a development and acquisition program intended to replace a wide range of existing Fighter aircraft, fighter, strike fighter, strike, and ground attack aircraft for the United States, the United Kingdom, Italy, C ...

that led to the F-35 Lightning II. The

Turkish Air Force The Turkish Air Force () is the Air force, air and space force of the Turkish Armed Forces. It traces its origins to 1 June 1911 when it was founded as the Ottoman Aviation Squadrons, Aviation Squadrons by the Ottoman Empire. It was composed ...

was intending to get the F-35A CTOL version, until the

U.S. Senate The United States Senate is a chamber of the bicameral United States Congress; it is the upper house, with the U.S. House of Representatives being the lower house. Together, the Senate and House have the authority under Article One of the ...

blocked the export of the fighter jet to Turkey due to its purchase of the

S-400 missile system The S-400 Triumf ( – Triumf; translation: Triumph; NATO reporting name: SA-21 Growler), previously known as the S-300 PMU-3, is a mobile surface-to-air missile (SAM) system developed in the 1990s by Russia's NPO Almaz as an upgrade to the S ...

from Russia, which is subjected to CAATSA sanctions. Instead of the F-35B STOVL version, in the short term the Turkish Navy will operate domestically-produced

UCAV An unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), also known as a combat drone, fighter drone or battlefield UAV, is an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) that is used for intelligence, surveillance, target acquisition, and reconnaissance and carries aircr ...

s such as the Bayraktar TB3 and

Bayraktar Kızılelma The Bayraktar Kızılelma (English language, English: ''Red Apple'') is a single-engine, low-observable, carrier-based aircraft, carrier-capable, jet-powered unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV), currently in development by Defense industry of T ...

. According to the official specifications, ''Anadolu'' will be capable of operating up to 10 F-35Bs, if Turkey purchases the aircraft in the future, and 12 medium-sized helicopters in the "V/STOL aircraft carrier" configuration. The dimensions of the final design are in length, a beam, a

draft Draft, the draft, or draught may refer to: Watercraft dimensions * Draft (hull), the distance from waterline to keel of a vessel * Draft (sail), degree of curvature in a sail * Air draft, distance from waterline to the highest point on a v ...

, and in height. Her

displacement Displacement may refer to: Physical sciences Mathematics and physics *Displacement (geometry), is the difference between the final and initial position of a point trajectory (for instance, the center of mass of a moving object). The actual path ...

is 24,660 tons in "V/STOL aircraft carrier" mission configuration, or 27,079 tons in "amphibious assault ship" mission configuration. Her maximum speed is in "STOVL aircraft carrier" configuration, or in "amphibious assault ship" configuration. Her maximum range is at an economical speed.

Amphibious assault ship configuration

The ship has a light cargo garage for TEU containers and 27 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV); a dock which can host four Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) or two

Landing Craft Air Cushion The Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC) is a class of air-cushioned landing craft (hovercraft) used by the United States Navy and the Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF). They transport weapons systems, equipment, cargo and personnel from s ...

(LCAC), or two Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP); and a garage for heavy loads, which can host 29

main battle tank A main battle tank (MBT), also known as a battle tank or universal tank or simply tank,Ogorkiewicz 2018 p222 is a tank that fills the role of armour-protected direct fire and maneuver in many modern armies. Cold War-era development of more po ...

s (MBT), Amphibious Assault Vehicles, and TEU containers. The ship is protected by the ARAS-2023 diver detection sonar (DDS). She has a crew of 261 personnel: 30 officers, 49 NCOs, 59 leading seamen, and 123 ratings.

V/STOL aircraft carrier configuration

The ship has a

flight deck The flight deck of an aircraft carrier is the surface on which its aircraft take off and land, essentially a miniature airfield at sea. On smaller naval ships which do not have aviation as a primary mission, the landing area for helicopters ...

and a aviation

hangar A hangar is a building or structure designed to hold aircraft or spacecraft. Hangars are built of metal, wood, or concrete. The word ''hangar'' comes from Middle French ''hanghart'' ("enclosure near a house"), of Germanic origin, from Frankish ...

which can accommodate either 12 medium-sized helicopters or 8 Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters. When the aviation hangar and the light cargo garage are unified, the ship can carry up to 25 medium-sized helicopters. Alternatively, the ship can carry up to 10 F-35B

fighter jets and 12 medium-sized helicopters, with the possibility of hosting six more helicopters on the flight deck of the ship.

Aircraft types

The S-70B-28 Seahawk and the

AH-1W Super Cobra The Bell AH-1 SuperCobra is a twin-engined attack helicopter that was developed on behalf of, and primarily operated by, the United States Marine Corps (USMC). The twin Cobra family, itself part of the larger Huey family, includes the AH-1J S ...

are the two main types of helicopters that are used on TCG ''Anadolu'', with the occasional use of the Boeing CH-47F Chinook helicopters in the inventory of the

Turkish Army The Turkish Land Forces () is the main branch of the Turkish Armed Forces responsible for Army, land-based military operations. The army was formed on November 8, 1920, after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. Significant campaigns since the ...

during military exercises and operations. The AH-1W Super Cobra helicopters will eventually be complemented and replaced by the TAI T929 ATAK 2. The

MALE Male (Planet symbols, symbol: ♂) is the sex of an organism that produces the gamete (sex cell) known as sperm, which fuses with the larger female gamete, or Egg cell, ovum, in the process of fertilisation. A male organism cannot sexual repro ...

Bayraktar TB3 and the jet-powered, low-observable

are the two

s that are specifically designed and manufactured to be used on TCG ''Anadolu''. On 19 November 2024, Baykar Bayraktar TB3 UCAV successfully took-off from the flight deck of TCG ''Anadolu'' and landed on the ship. It was the first time a fixed-wing unmanned aircraft of this size and class had successfully landed on a short-runway

landing helicopter dock A landing helicopter dock (LHD) is a multipurpose amphibious assault ship that is capable of operating as a helicopter carrier and also has a well deck for supporting landing crafts. LHD vessels are built with a full flight deck similar in ...

, without the use of an

arresting gear An arresting gear, or arrestor gear, is a mechanical system used to rapidly decelerate an aircraft as it lands. Arresting gear on aircraft carriers is an essential component of naval aviation, and it is most commonly used on CATOBAR and STOBA ...

Construction and commissioning

The final contract for the construction of the ship was signed with the Navantia-Sedef consortium on 7 May 2015."Havuzlu Çıkarma Gemisi 2021 yılında Deniz Kuvvetleri'ne teslim edilecek"
Denizhaber.com.tr, 7 May 2015. The commissioning of the ship was initially scheduled for 2021, and the estimated cost of the ship according to the final specifications was declared as $1 billion in 2015. The construction works began on 30 April 2016 at the shipyard of Sedef Shipbuilding Inc. in Istanbul. A small area in the forward of the ship caught fire whilst in dry dock on the evening of 29 April 2019, but the fire was quickly extinguished and the minor damage on the coating paint (stains of smoke and flames) was subsequently repaired with a fresh repainting. On 27 February 2022, the sea trials of ''Anadolu'' began. TCG ''Anadolu'' was commissioned with a ceremony, attended by President Erdoğan, on 10 April 2023. According to media reports in 2019, the construction of a

sister ship A sister ship is a ship of the same Ship class, class or of virtually identical design to another ship. Such vessels share a nearly identical hull and superstructure layout, similar size, and roughly comparable features and equipment. They o ...

, to be named ''Trakya'', was being planned by the Turkish Navy. However, the Turkish Navy gave priority to the construction of the indigenously-designed ''MUGEM''-class aircraft carrier, which began on 2 January 2025. The first ''MUGEM''-class aircraft carrier is being built at the

Istanbul Naval Shipyard Istanbul Naval Shipyard (), also known as Pendik Naval Shipyard, is a naval shipyard of the Turkish Navy on the northeastern coast of the Sea of Marmara in Tuzla, Istanbul, Turkey. It is the largest shipbuilding facility in Turkey. Right after t ...

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Anadolu 2019 ships Amphibious warfare vessels of the Turkish Navy Ships built at Sedef Shipyard Helicopter carriers Drone carriers