Turkey has begun to unveil plans for what will be the largest aircraft carrier in its history, a warship whose size will surpass the recently launched aircraft carrier TCG Anadolu, which entered service in 2023 to coincide with the 100 years of the Turkish Republic. While 70% of the components of the TCG Anadolu, which is modelled on the Spanish aircraft carrier Juan Carlos I, were produced in Turkey, the aim is to increase the percentage of domestic production in the new Turkish aircraft carrier.
The design of the Turkish army’s new aircraft carrier will be carried out by the Turkish Naval Forces Command’s Design Project Office Directorate (DPO), and although all the details are not yet known, the Turkish press has reported that it will be a ship with the capacity to deploy both manned and unmanned aircraft of national manufacture, for which collaboration is already underway with companies such as Baykar and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).
DPO has been a key player in several national naval development projects in Turkey, including the development of the new ADA-class corvettes – TCG Heybeliada, TCG Büyükada, TCG Burgazada and TCG Kınalıada – as well as in the new “Istif Class” frigate project: the first frigate of this type, the TCG Istanbul (F-515), was built in the Istanbul military shipyards, entered service in early 2024, and 80% of its components and technology are domestically manufactured, including the MKE naval gun, Atmaca anti-ship missiles, or the Gökdeniz anti-missile gunnery system (CIWS).
Everything suggests that the future largest aircraft carrier in Turkey’s history will have a national participation of at least 80%, although last October, after the launching of the TCG Anadolu, Erdoğan himself announced that he was confident of reaching a new agreement with Spain for the development of the new Turkish aircraft carrier.
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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