Turkey’s future flagship “TCG Anadolu” has completed its first helicopter landing

The Turkish Navy is close to officially commissioning its future flagship, the TCG Anadolu.

The country’s Ministry of Defense announced on Friday that the ship completed the first-ever helicopter landing and takeoff exercises.

AH-1W Super Cobra and SH-70B Sea Hawk helicopters landed on the flight deck of TCG Anadolu, demonstrating that the ship can support aircraft operations.

1⃣Güne asil milletimizi gururlandıracak fotoğraflarla başaklar ışımır. 🇹🇷

Fotoğraflarda biğınız Deniz Kuvvetlerimize ait AH-1W Super Cobra and SH-70 Sea Hawk helicopters, Çok Maksatlı Amfibi Gemimiz #LHDANADOLU‘ya ilk inişi çalışlerek konuşlanmayi sampaladilar. pic.twitter.com/OklhKkfYNS

— TC Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) November 18, 2022

A month earlier, the multi-role aircraft reached another milestone when it deployed Ankara’s ALTAY main battle tank during a landing exercise.

It is expected that the tests of the future Turkish flagship will be completed by the end of the year.

TCG Anadolu

Designed by Sedef Shipbuilding, the TCG Anadolu will be the largest naval ship in the Turkish military at 232 meters (761 feet) long.

It can accommodate up to 261 people, including crew members.

The ship is armed with five Aselsan 25mm long-range weapon systems, two Phalanx close-in weapon systems, and a surface-to-air missile system.

In addition to the Super Cobra and Sea Hawk, the large vessel will operate locally developed T129 attack helicopters.

It is expected to support military missions in the Aegean, Black and Mediterranean regions and may also be deployed in the Indian and Atlantic oceans.

Before the US excluded Turkey from the F-35 program due to its purchase of Russian defense systems, the ship’s “springboard” was supposed to launch the fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35B fighter.