Although it is not yet 100% certain, it appears that Turkey is following through on plans to modify a LHD amphibious ship (the Anadolu, L400) to act as a drone carrier after having the option of operating F-35Bs terminated due to political issues and removal from the F-35 program.
As previously reported by Defense News, the Turkish government hopes to convert its landing helicopter dock Anadolu into a carrier ship for attack drones because the Turkish navy lost the ability to launch a fixed-wing aircraft from Anadolu after the United States removed Turkey from the F-35 project.[1]
Anadolu will be capable to deploy between 30 and 50 Bayraktar TB3 folding-wing drones.[1]
Let’s take a closer look at Turkey’s UAV carrier.
Air Wing
As with any carrier, the carrier’s value lies entirely in its air wing. In this case the air wing consists entirely of unmanned UAV drones.
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| Turkish UAV Carrier Anadolu |
The Turkish UAV carrier will use an indigenously designed and built drone, the TB3, based on the Baykar TB2 family.
The new armed drone will have a takeoff weight of 1450 kilograms [ed. 3190 lbs] and will be able to fly 24 hours a day, according to an infographic in the presentation. In addition, the TB-3 will be able to fly at high altitudes, and its wings will fold when on the ship.[1]
Turkey’s Defence Industry Chief Ismail Demir stated that Anadolu will be capable to deploy between 30 or 50 Bayraktar TB-3 drones.[5]
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Turkish UAV Carrier Concept Illustration - Note Size of Aircraft and Folding Wings |
The TB3 is a modification of the TB2, already in operation. The TB3 will launch using a ‘roller’ and pulley/cable mechanism powered by an electric motor [4] and recover by flying into a net, the belief being that having the propellers mounted to the rear will allow the net recovery with no damage. Other reports have suggested that aircraft recovery will be via a ‘hook’ of some sort.[5]
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| TB3 Drone |
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| Roller Style Launch System |
Here’s some basic specs and features of the TB3 [2]:
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TB3 Drone Specs and Features |
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Wingspan |
14 m (45.9 ft) |
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Length |
8.35 m (27.4 ft) |
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Height |
2.6 m (8.5 ft) |
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Max Take Off Weight |
1450 kg (3190 lb) |
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Cruise Speed |
125 knots |
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Max Speed |
160 knots |
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Max Payload |
280 Kilograms (616 lb) |
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Endurance |
24+ hrs (one report claims 50 hrs[8]) |
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Communications |
Line Of Sight and Beyond Line Of Sight |
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Take Off and Landing |
Fully Autonomous |
As shown in the specs, this is a big drone. It’s about the same size as the well known MQ-1 Predator.
Turkey is also developing an unmanned air-to-air combat UAV.
Selcuk Bayraktar [Chief Technology Officer of Baykar Co.] also stated that MIUS, an unmanned combat aircraft currently in concept design, would operate alongside the TB-3 on the LHD Anadolu. A MIUS prototype is planned to fly in 2023. LHD Anadolu would deploy two types of fixed-wing unmanned air assets once trials were completed.[1]
The first flight of prototype MIUS is expected in 2023. Currently in design phase, MUIS will be jet-powered, with a payload of up to 1.5 tons, Baykar top boss added. The autonomously maneuvering craft will be capable of operating in tandem with piloted aircraft, and may carry air-to-air missiles.[3]
“MIUS will operate at a cruising speed close to the speed of sound; the further prototypes will fly at the supersonic speed. It will have a payload of around 1500 kilograms. It will be able to deploy air-to-air, air-to-ground missiles and cruise missiles.”[5]
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| Turkish MIUS Combat Drone Illustration |
It appears that Turkey is attempting to develop both a strike/ISR and an air combat drone and their schedule is extremely aggressive.
On a related note, Turkey has developed a UAV air-to-surface weapon, the MAM-L smart micro munition. It is 1m long, weighs 22 kg, and has a range of 8-15 km, depending on options.[6]
CONOPS
We have no formal information about the Turkish UAV Carrier Concept of Operations (CONOPS), however, we can reason out a general concept.
Turkey is clearly aiming to develop combat drones as opposed to surveillance drones although I’m sure they’ll use the drones for surveillance, as needed. This would provide them with a carrier-mobile strike/combat aviation capability to replace the lost F-35B capability, to a degree. The TB3, in particular, seems to be a surveillance drone with a surface-to-ground missile capability, likely akin to the US Hellfire equipped drones. The MIUS drone, on the other hand, appears to be a pure combat UAV.
Of note is the fairly large number of embarked drones. Numbers in the 30-50 range have been reported.[7] This is significant in that it allows for massing of firepower effects to produce a militarily significant impact and allows for inevitable attrition.
Note: some reports have suggested that simultaneous control is limited to around 10 UAVs.[8] If true, this would limit the massing benefit.
On the negative side, the Turkish TB3 drones are large and slow and, as has been demonstrated in the real world, large, slow drones will have a very short life over a high end battlefield. The MIUS, as described, would be quite fast and maneuverable, making it potentially quite suitable for high end combat.
All of this suggests that the carrier is intended to operate in lower threat scenarios (as opposed to a China/US type high end combat setting) where the larger, slower TB3 can still be effective. The apparent control limit of ten or so UAVs also suggests lower threat scenarios where the UAV can provide situational awareness and an ‘aerial sniper’ type of ground support/attack as opposed to mass attacks.
If successfully developed (an ambitious undertaking by any standard!), the MIUS will be fully capable of high end combat and would, presumably, come to eventually comprise the majority of the air wing.
All of this strongly suggests that the UAV carrier will be used as a ground support platform rather than a stand alone strike asset. The MIUS would be used to establish local air superiority thereby allowing the TB3 drones to conduct sniper attacks on ground targets. An ambitious concept, if correct!
Summary
As stated, the value of any carrier is its air wing. Turkey’s UAV carrier air wing is, currently, mostly conceptual although the scope of that concept is impressive, to say the least. Of course, as the US has seen, repeatedly, the road from concept to working asset is difficult and, more often than not, results in failure. The more ambitious the concept, the greater the chance of failure and Turkey’s concept is ambitious in the extreme with the envisioned MIUS supersonic air combat vehicle as the cornerstone of the concept. It will be fascinating to see whether they can make it work.
ComNavOps has long advocated a UAV carrier although with a different intended mission from Turkey’s LHD. The Turkish CONOPS may work for whatever uses Turkey has in mind but they would not work for the US. The US has many different forms of strike and air-to-air capability, all far more efficient and effective than a large, slow drone or even an air-to-air combat UAV. What the US needs is a large amount of small, cheap, expendable surveillance drones for which a UAV carrier would be ideal. Similar ships, different CONOPS.
One cannot help but admire the vision and ambition of the Turkish arms development industry. If they can transform their visions into successful, working assets they will, if not revolutionize, certainly significantly impact the future conduct of war. The US Navy considered a combat UAV but ultimately settled on an unmanned tanker, instead. Our vision was more restrained, opting to take the safer route and develop unmanned carrier operating experience before revisiting the combat UAV. Which country’s approach will prove more successful (or both, or neither) remains to be seen.
I find it embarrassing that Turkey is exploring a UAV carrier when the US Navy will not. We have amphibious ships to, literally, throw away and it is nothing short of criminal to not use one as a prototype for a UAV carrier. The USS Whidbey Island (LSD-41), for example, is being retired this year and could easily serve as a prototype for a year or two.
We’re enamored with unmanned aircraft and yet, inexplicably, we seem to have no interest in figuring out how to integrate them into the fleet.
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[1]Defense News, “Turkey’s Baykar preparing shipborne fleet of combat drones”, Tayfun Ozberk, 6-Aug-2021,
[2]https://baykartech.com/en/bayraktar-tb3/
[3]https://www.defenseworld.net/news/30761/Baykar_to_Test_Bayraktar_TB3_Sea_Based_UAV#.YiFGcfZFyM8
[5]Naval News website, “Turkey to deploy MIUS unmanned combat aircraft from LHD Anadolu”,Tayfun Ozberk, 22-Jul-2021,
[7]Defense News, “Turkey plans to deploy attack drones from its amphibious assault ship”, Tayfun Ozberk, 11-Mar-2021,
[8]https://vpk.name/en/579043_in-turkey-the-flight-of-the-deck-bayraktar-was-announced.html
