JAKARTA - As Turkey's defense industry prepares the helicopter landing type amphibious assault ship (LHD) TCG Anadolu for delivery, plans to build an aircraft carrier are also high on the country's agenda.
The head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) Ismail Demir said building an aircraft carrier should be considered part of Turkey's vision to "become a global power."
Demir stated, carriers cannot be categorized as one type of ship and it is a concept they have the ability to work around. The TCG Anadolu was originally classified as an aircraft carrier by the press, he said, which it wasn't.
"It was planned as a landing craft with a dock. However, once it was understood it was possible to deploy an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) or unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) on the soon-to-be operational Anadolu ship, we started working on this concept," he explained, citing the Daily. Sabah from Anadolu Agency 23 November.
Demir said the main goal is to get the ship into service as soon as possible, noting the deployment of the UCAV Bayraktar TB3, currently planned as a vertical take-off and landing (VTOL) combat drone, will follow.
Although the ship will be able to carry helicopter gunships on its landing deck, Turkey does not currently operate any aircraft that can take off from the ship. The TB3, with its folding wing design, can be deployed from short naval runways.
With several parts already in production, the TB3 is expected to make its first test flight next year.
In addition, Demir stressed that a second and more comprehensive ship that could be classified as an actual aircraft carrier, as announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan was on the agenda.
"We see the concept of an aircraft carrier starting to change," he said, as Turkey also brought a new concept, the concept of an unmanned aerial vehicle carrier that has attracted global attention.
Demir said this topic was also discussed with his Spanish colleagues who recently showed interest.
"There is an appropriate approach to consider a larger vessel in a format that will accommodate several types of UAV/UCAV with jet engines and propellers. We will work further on that. It is an idea at this time, but we are discussing this issue with various interlocutors," said Demir.
To note, apart from the two ships above, Turkey is also known to be preparing to work on a number of other local defense industry projects, such as the Fast Attack Craft (FAC-55) assault ship project.
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