A Bayraktar TB3 uncrewed aircraft has successfully landed on and taken off from the Turkish Navy’s ‘drone carrier’ TCG Anadolu for the first time. TB3s, which can be armed with small precision munitions and conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions, are set to be a central component of the ship’s air wing.
Selcuk Bayraktar, chief technology officer at the TB3’s manufacturer Baykar, posted videos of the TB3’s milestone achievements aboard Anadolu on social media earlier today. Bayraktar had previously posted clips showing one of the drones making approaches and flying over the ship’s flight deck, but not actually touching down.
More specific details about the new TB3 testing aboard Anadolu, including what degree of automation and/or autonomy was involved, remain limited.
The TB3 flew for the first time last year and conducted its first land-based ski-jump takeoff test earlier this year. The drone is a navalized variant of the combat-proven TB2, which Ukrainian forces extensively employed in the opening phases of Russia’s all-out invasion. TB2s have also seen combat in Syria and Libya, as well as in fighting between Azerbaijan and Armenia.
The Anadolu‘s design is based on that of Spain’s Juan Carlos I amphibious assault ship and it features a large open flight deck with a ski-jump at the bow. The Turkish vessel also has a well-deck at the rear for launching and recovering landing craft, as well as spaces internally for accommodating tanks and other vehicles and ground personnel, to support traditional amphibious operations.
In 2023, Turkish authorities announced plans to optimize the ship’s configuration to support drone operations. Modifications to support that shift in focus would include the addition of dedicated control stations and accompanying beyond-line-of-sight satellite communications terminals, a ‘roller system’ on the flight deck toward the bow to help launch uncrewed aircraft, an arresting gear system, and safety nets.
Bayraktar’s videos do not appear to show the use of any launch or recovery systems on Anadolu as part of the latest TB3 testing, indicating those modifications, at least, are still to come.
The TB3 landing on and taking off from Anadolu is still a significant achievement that puts Turkey one step closer to fielding an operational uncrewed naval aviation capability currently found in no other country. With an expected 1,000-mile-maximum range and 24-hour endurance, the drones are set to give the Turkish Navy a completely new way to project maritime power. The TB3s can be fitted with up to six underwing hardpoints capable of carrying small precision-guided missiles and bombs, as well as rockets and other munitions, along with a sensor turret containing electro-optical and infrared cameras underneath the central fuselage.
Flying from Anadolu‘s deck, TB3s could conduct attacks at certain targets on land and at sea, as well as conduct surveillance and reconnaissance missions. The drones could also act as aerial network relay nodes and, if fitted with a radar of some kind, possibly even serve as airborne early warning platforms.
Turkey’s naval drone ambitions for Anadolu already look to go beyond the TB3. An example of Baykar’s jet-powered fighter-like Kizilelma drone was also loaded onto the ship’s flight deck for a ceremony marking its formal entry into service last year, as seen below. Kizilelma reflects a larger trend in increasingly advanced uncrewed aviation developments from the Turkish aviation sector that also includes Turkish Aircraft Industries (TAI) stealthy flying-wing ANKA-3 uncrewed combat air vehicle (UCAV).
For Turkey, drones also offer a valuable domestic pathway to fielding fixed-wing naval aviation capabilities, in general. The Turkish government’s ejection from the F-35 program over the country’s purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in 2019 upended any near-term plans to acquire short-takeoff and vertical landing capable B variants for Anadolu. The S-400 deal and other factors led to a broader cooling of U.S.-Turkish relations that ended any discussion about acquisitions of ex-U.S. Marine Corps Harrier jump jets. There has been some talk in the past year about Turkey rejoining the F-35 program.
Helicopters, including armed AH-1W Cobra and T129 types and anti-submarine warfare SH-60B Seahawks, are also expected to operate from Anadolu‘s deck.
In addition, the TB3 testing aboard Anadolu is just one example of a still-growing push to field uncrewed naval aviation capabilities globally, as well as adapting big-deck amphibious warfare ships into the ‘drone carrier’ role. China is making particularly significant strides in this regard, including in the development of flying wing UCAVs that can operate from carriers and other big-deck ships, as well as an entirely new class of super-sized amphibious assault ship.
In the United Kingdom, the Royal Navy has shown its ability to launch and recover drones in the same general size class as the TB3, such as General Dynamics Mojave, from its carrier HMS Prince of Wales as part of efforts there to expand uncrewed naval aviation capabilities. Just last week, what General Atomics described as a Gray Eagle STOL drone successfully launched from South Korea’s Dokdo amphibious assault ship as part of another demonstration, but recovered at a base on land.
General Atomics is also pitching a derivative of its MQ-9 Reaper that can operate from big-deck ships, as well as a carrier-capable member of its highly modular Gambit family of uncrewed aircraft.
A number of other countries are also actively looking to field fixed-wing naval drone capabilities or otherwise exploring doing so, and in many cases by leveraging existing or future big-deck amphibious assault ships.
In many ways, the U.S. Navy has been lagging behind in such developments, with the MQ-25 Stingray tanker drone set to be its first operational advanced uncrewed carrier-based aircraft. The MQ-25 will have a secondary surveillance and reconnaissance capability, and there have been discussions about adding additional roles and missiles, including stand-off strike, in the future.
The Navy is now in the process of installing new dedicated drone control centers on its carriers, which it says will help it realize its own larger uncrewed naval aviation plans. The service has a stated goal for its carrier air wings to eventually become at least 60% pilotless.
With the successful demonstration of the TB3’s ability to land on and take off from the Anadolu, Turkey still looks in line to be the first to have an operational ‘drone carrier.’
Contact the author: joe@twz.com