In April of this year, Turkey’s largest ship, TCG Anadolu, was delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces. Since the handover ceremony, the ship has become a topic of discussion in Turkish media, particularly regarding its use as an unmanned aerial vehicle ship and chronic propulsion system failures on its sister ship, Juan Carlos I. Retired Rear Admiral Turker Erturk brought the issue of chronic propulsion system failures to the forefront. However, this article will discuss only aspects related to the intended use of the ship.
The decision to purchase an LHD-type ship was seen as an important turning point for many people in defense circles, including myself. I also attended a meeting on this subject in Madrid in 2013. The entry of a 231-meter-long platform, which can deploy a vertical landing fighter jet, into the inventory would allow Turkish Naval Forces to:
- Contribute more to the operations of international organizations, especially NATO,
- Create a deployable task force and gain experience for transition to a task group consisting of an aircraft carrier, and
- Lead to greater participation in peacekeeping, peace support operations, and national and international humanitarian relief efforts.
Due to the S-400 crisis and Turkey’s subsequent withdrawal from the F-35 project, it is currently not possible to deploy STOVL aircraft to TCG Anadolu in the near future. The F-35B is currently the only STOVL aircraft available in the defense market. The production of Harrier aircrafts, which are used on Juan Carlos I, has been stopped. There are no fighter jets on the sister ships HMAS Canberra and HMAS Adelaide in the Australian Naval Forces’ inventory. The Australian government is considering purchasing the F-35B to be stationed on these ships, but no decision has been made yet.
It has been announced by the Turkish Government that the ship will be used for heavy helicopters, drones, and light-attack aircraft (Hurjet) operations. This decision was made in light of the US Congress’ veto of the sale of F-35B aircraft to Turkey and taking into account domestic political balances/interests. In particular, it was emphasized that the TB-3 armed drone and the Kızılelma combat UAV would be used from the ship.
TCG Anadolu will operate in a task group that will protect itself from air, submarine, surface, and asymmetric threats in cases of crisis and war. However, the aircrafts to be stationed on the ship will be insufficient for a task force to provide air defense, and drone and light-attack aircraft cannot be used in severe sea conditions, even if the flight deck length is sufficient for take-off and landing.
In addition to the technical issues related to the deployment of drones and light-attack aircraft from TCG Anadolu, the high cost of running a task force group poses a significant challenge to its effective utilization. This is particularly concerning given Turkey’s recent poor economic performance, which may make it difficult to justify the financial investment required to maintain an operational task force.