Although not as prominent as the major military powers in the world
in recent years, the Turkish Navy has grown and is considered the strongest in the region
This is thanks to the rapid development of the country's defense industry
In fact, the Turkish defense industry is currently attracting more and more attention from the international community
According to the Center for Strategic Studies and Maritime Policy at Israel's Haifa University
in recent years, Turkey has been working to upgrade its submarine fleet and increase the threat to potential adversaries
According to the report, the construction of Anadolu, an amphibious assault ship that can act as a light aircraft carrier
will give Turkey unprecedented combat capabilities in the Black Sea and Eastern Mediterranean
Named after the Anatolia peninsula in Turkey, TCG Anadolu has a full load displacement of 27,436 tons and a crew of 261
The ship has a hangar space of 900 m2
In particular, the ship can support long-range military combat, good endurance, as well as humanitarian relief operations
In addition, the ship can operate continuously for 9,000 nautical miles without refueling
In addition to Turkey's GENESIS-ADVENT combat management system, the ship will be equipped with an electronic warfare system
a decoy and jamming system; SeaEye-AHTAPOT opto-electronic surveillance and reconnaissance system
PIRI infrared search and tracking system
In addition, Turkey produces its own weapons and military equipment, including cruise missiles with a range of hundreds of kilometers
In general, Ankara has enough capacity to produce naval assets on its own
Previously, Anadolu was designed to operate the F-35 fighter, so it was not suitable for the normal take-off and landing of fixed-wing aircraft
Therefore, the Turkish navy is considering converting this ship into an aircraft carrier for armed drones
Under the plan, Turkey is developing a new type of UCAV capable of operating on an aircraft carrier
The navy's plan is to ensure that at least 10 UCAVs can operate simultaneously from the carrier
One of the key elements of Turkey's plan to increase naval power is the New Submarine Project, the Type-214 diesel-electric submarine
Six submarines were planned in 2009.
The first, Pirireis, is expected to enter service in 2022
The project is expected to be completed in 2027
As the Turkish Type 214 will have a significant amount of Turkish indigenous systems on board
this variant of the Type 214 will be known as the Type 214TN (Turkish Navy)
HDW will preassemble classified elements such as the fuel cells and propulsion system and will then ship them to Turkey
All electronic and weapon systems (including the C4I system) will be of Turkish production
Last October, Turkey revealed plans to launch the ULAQ, its first Armed Unmanned Surface Vessel
The vessel has a range of 400km and a speed of up to 35 knots
ULAQ is a cooperation product of two leading Turkish defense companies, Ares Shipyard and Meteksan Defense
The ship is 11 meters long, with a speed of 35 knots, capable of day and night combat
With encrypted communications infrastructure, ships can be controlled from mobile vehicles, aircraft carriers or frigates
The ship is designed for intelligence-surveillance-reconnaissance (ISR), maritime warfare, non-linear warfare, escort and strategic infrastructure protection
The ship can perform joint operations with unmanned aircraft and is equipped with the Cirit and L-UMTAS missile systems manufactured by Roketsan
According to Turkish media, the navy plans to put into service 24 new ships, including four frigates
This is part of a plan to strengthen and support Turkey's rapidly growing domestic defense industry
The Istanbul (F-515), which was launched in January this year, is the first and largest frigate of Turkish design and production
75% of materials are domestic products. The Ada-class corvettes will be built with a localization rate of 72%.
The multirole frigates and corvettes will be armed with Roketsan's high-precision Atmaca long-range anti-ship missiles
Atmaca missiles can be used on patrol boats, frigates and corvettes.
With a range of more than 200km, the Atmaca poses a threat to out-of-sight targets and will replace the US Harpoon anti-ship missile
The growth of the Turkish military shipbuilding industry and the technological sophistication of the weapons
produced by Turkish defense companies have attracted the attention of foreign militaries
With the export of more than 130 military ships to countries such as Egypt, Malaysia, Indonesia, Qatar and Turkmenistan, Turkey
has emerged as a viable alternative to other established military shipbuilding nations