BAYKAR Company has been developing a new Unmanned Combat Air Vehicle (UCAV) model to land and take of Turkey’s future LHD Anadolu, Turkey’s leading defense company BAYKAR’s CEO Haluk Bayraktar announced during an online interview via Twitch.
He also outlined the success of TB-2 drones against Russian air defense systems in Karabakh, and the drones are resistant against electronic warfare attacks.
Turkey’s first LHD project Anadolu was initially designed to launch and land F35B STOVL aircraft, but Turkey was dispatched from F35B projects because of the sanctions imposed by the U.S. after Turkey’s S400 air defense system procurement from Russia.
LHD Anadolu:
TCG Anadolu (L-400) is an amphibious assault ship (LHD) of the Turkish Navy that can be configured as a light aircraft carrier. The vessel is intended to meet the various needs and requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces, such as sustaining long-endurance, long-distance military combat, or humanitarian relief operations, while acting as a command center and flagship for the Turkish Navy.
The Sedef–Navantia consortium won the tender for the LPD/LHD project of the Turkish Navy, and Anadolu will use the same design as that of the Spanish ship Juan Carlos I. The vessel will feature a Turkish combat management system, namely the GENESIS-ADVENT, which will be integrated by Aselsan and Havelsan. Aircraft landing is assisted in all weather conditions by Leonardo SPN-720 Precision Approach Radar.
The LHD will be capable of operating up to 12 helicopters or 12 F-35Bs operated by NATO allies in a “light aircraft carrier” configuration. 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.[23] 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 (in “light aircraft carrier” configuration) or 29 knots (in “LHD” configuration), while its maximum range will be 9,000 nautical miles (17,000 km) at economical speed. It will have a 5,440 m2 flight deck and a 990 m2 aviation hangar which can accommodate either 12 medium-sized helicopters or 8 CH-47F Chinook heavy-lift helicopters.
Additionally, the ship will have a 1,880 m2 light cargo garage for TEU containers and 27 Amphibious Assault Vehicles (AAV); a 1,165 m2 dock which can host four Landing Craft Mechanized (LCM) or two Landing Craft Air Cushion (LCAC), or two Landing Craft Vehicle Personnel (LCVP); and a 1,410 m2 (15,200 sq ft) garage for heavy loads, which can host 29 Main Battle Tanks (MBT), Amphibious Assault Vehicles, and TEU containers. The ship will be protected by the ARAS-2023 diver detection sonar (DDS) and will have a crew consisting of 261 personnel.
