Turkiye launches project to develop new domestic aircraft carrier

Turkiye is making preparations for its upcoming and largest-ever domestic aircraft carrier, in the latest expansion of the country’s defence capabilities.

According to Turkish media outlets, the Turkish Naval Forces Command’s Directorate of Design Project Office (DPO) is leading a project to design and develop the largest aircraft carrier possessed by Turkiye, to date.

In a briefing to the press on Wednesday, the DPO revealed that a team of around 110 individuals at the Office are working on efforts to increase the domestic production ratio for the new national aircraft carrier, which has not yet been named.

While still in its conceptual design phase, the carrier would supposedly hold both manned and unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), with prominent domestic defence production companies, including Baykar and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) reportedly collaborating with the project due to the aim for craft deployed to the carrier to be of domestic origin.

The operation and scale of the new carrier is set to surpass Turkiye’s current largest vessel, the TCG Anadolu, an amphibious assault ship – boasting a 70 percent domestic production – commissioned last year.

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