According to a tweet published by the Turkish Ministry of Defense on March 4, 2022, the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu will begin sea trials shortly and is expected to be commissioned by the end of the year.
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Amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu (Picture source: Turkish MoD)
Anadolu (L-400) is an amphibious assault ship (LHD) of the Turkish Navy that can be configured as a STOVL aircraft carrier. The construction works began on 30 April 2016 at the shipyard of Sedef Shipbuilding Inc. in Istanbul, with the keel being laid on 7 February 2018, and is expected to be commissioned in 2022.
The dimensions of the final design are 231 meters (757 ft 10 in) in length, a 32-meter (105 ft 0 in) beam, a 6.8-meter (22 ft 4 in) draft, and 58 meters (190 ft 3 in) in height. Its displacement will be 24,660 tons (in "light aircraft carrier" mission configuration) or 27,079 tons (in "LHD" mission configuration).
Its maximum speed will be 21.5 knots (39.8 km/h; 24.7 mph) (in "light aircraft carrier" configuration) or 29 knots (54 km/h; 33 mph) (in "LHD" configuration); while its maximum range will be 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km; 10,000 mi) at economical speed.
The ship has a 5,440 m2 (58,600 sq ft) flight deck and a 990 m2 (10,700 sq ft) aviation hangar which can accommodate either 12 medium-sized helicopters or 8 Boeing CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.
When the aviation hangar and the light cargo garage are unified, the ship can carry up to 25 medium-sized helicopters. Alternatively, the ship can carry up to 10 F-35B STOVL fighter jets and 12 medium-sized helicopters, with the possibility of hosting six more helicopters on the flight deck of the ship.
