Sea tests began for Turkey’s multipurpose amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu, according to an official from the shipyard that undertook the project Tuesday.
Sedef Shipyard Defense Industry Projects Manager Selim Buldanoğlu said the construction of the ship, which is set to increase Turkey's amphibious operations capabilities, has been completed and that the sea tests have begun.
Upon its addition into the inventory, it will inherit the title of the flagship of the Turkish navy.
TCG Anadolu is a landing helicopter dock (LHD) type vessel modeled on Spain's LHD Juan Carlos.
Ismail Demir, head of the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB), said back in December that the vessel will be added to the inventory by the end of 2022.
The vessel is set to be equipped with various domestic systems.
For its airpower, AH-1W attack helicopters are expected to be deployed initially, before Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) made Atak-2 helicopters tailored for naval platforms replace those particular choppers.
For land platforms, one of the domestic products that come to the fore is the amphibious assault vehicle, the ZAHA developed by the FNSS.
The 21-personnel-capacity ZAHA marine assault vehicle (MAV) was designed to facilitate the rapid movement of naval troops to mission locations and allow marines to reach shorelines in the shortest time possible to tackle enemy threats. It is currently in the testing process.
The vehicle is set to operate like an armored combat vehicle when on land, offering ballistic and mine protection.
It was initially showcased at the International Defense Industry Fair in Istanbul on May 1, 2019.
Meanwhile, the TCG Anadolu is also expected to be deployed with unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), a first in its kind.
According to the Turkish Defense Industry 2022 Targets announced by the SSB, Bayraktar TB3 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAV) are under development by Turkey’s drone magnate, Baykar, and can take off from ships with short runways. The UCAV will make its first flight in 2022 and is planned for the flag-ship-to-be LHD.
Bayraktar TB3, the technical features of which were announced at the technology and aviation festival Teknofest 2021, will have a higher payload capacity than the now world-famous Bayraktar TB2, at 280 kilograms (617 pounds) versus 150 kilograms, along with foldable wings to save space during transportation.
