Summary: Aircraft carriers represent the pinnacle of naval power, with the U.S. leading with 11 active carriers. China is enhancing its fleet with the Type 003 Fujian, while other nations, including Turkey, are expanding their carrier capabilities. Turkey's TCG Anadolu, modeled after Spain's Juan Carlos I, entered service as the world's first 'carrier' or assault ship for drones and heavy helicopters.
-The Anadolu can deploy up to 50 aircraft, including unmanned fighters and attack drones, and reach speeds of 25 knots.
-This multipurpose amphibious assault ship underscores Turkey's ambitions to enhance its regional influence and support multinational missions.
Aircraft carriers are the pinnacle of naval prowess. The U.S. dominates the category at the moment, with 11 carrier ships in service. China is also trying to field additional carriers, with Beijing planning to introduce its latest Type 003 Fujian by the end of the decade.
In this period of growing geopolitical tensions, other nations want to expand their carrier capabilities as well. Last year, Turkey’s TCG Anadolu officially entered service. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan hailed the Anadolu as the first carrier of its kind.
“The TCG Anadolu, which we have commissioned, is the first warship in the world in this area where drones can land and take off with the largest and heaviest helicopters,” Erdogan said. “She has features that will enable us to conduct military and humanitarian operations in any corner of the world if needed.”
Designed to be the Turkish navy’s new flagship, the multipurpose amphibious assault ship was modeled after Spain’s Juan Carlos I. According to Turkish media, 70% of the Anadolu was domestically produced, and the country’s Directorate of Design Project Office wants to increase that rate in future projects.
The carrier has three runways, a modular ramp, and other carrier-specific capabilities for the deployment of 50 aircraft. Among the aircraft that will be able to take off and land from the ship are the TAI Hurjet light attack airframe, the TAI ANKA-III unmanned fighter, Baykar’s Bayraktar Kizilelma unmanned jet fighter, and the TB-3 unmanned combat aerial vehicle. Powered by combined gas turbine and gas turbine propulsion, or COCAG, the ship can reach 25 knots while sailing with a range of 9,000 nautical miles. The warship can carry 1,400 personnel, including soldiers and marines, as well as other combat vehicles and support equipment.
With the Anadolu, Turkey might have procured a new flagship. But the development and introduction of the ship demonstrates Ankara’s deeper ambitions to raise its status as a key player in multinational missions. Erdogan is also expected to use the Anadolu to support territorial claims against Greece and to secure energy reserves in the Eastern Mediterranean.
Ultimately, Ankara also hopes to procure the F-35B Lightning II airframe, even though the country was kicked out of the Joint Strike Fighter co-development group after it purchased a Russian air-defense system that violated the trust of the U.S. and its NATO allies.
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin.
