Defence Turkey: The TGC Anadolu is ready to be operational, what new capabilities will it provide to the Turkish Navy?

Jorge García MONEDERO: The “TGG Anadolu” is a vessel included in the NATO definition of Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD), this is mainly a multi-mission amphibious vessel, and she will provide a wide variety of new mission profiles for the Turkish Naval Forces Command (TNFC). As mentioned, her main mission profile is to project the amphibious force (troops, vehicles, aircrafts, and logistic support) to a distant scenario by sea, land the force (in a friendly or conquered beach/port, by means of the landing crafts, or by means of the onboard flight wing over the horizon), command the force as a flag vessel and provide logistic support to the force during the operations. 

The Anadolu is a complex platform that can deploy and support a troop force of 1,500 with more than 100 vehicles and 25 aircraft at any point within 9.000 nautical miles, this is a very impressive capability in the hands of the TNFC.

Defence Turkey: Navantia has a significiant  experience in building this type of ships. Can you explain?

Jorge García MONEDERO: Yes, it is in our DNA, since the early 90s, due to the design and building of our Armada amphibious ships. This has been possible thanks to our core design capabilities and our customer requirement definition. In this regard, the LHD in its different versions, from 8,000 to 30,000 tons, is one of our most successful products as it has been sold to Australia, Türkiye and Spain. 

“We Are Looking Forward to Future Opportunities Together Like the Possible Second Vessel or the Support of Anadolu.”

Defence Turkey: Navantia has also delivered the Integrated Platform Management System (IPMS) onboard TCG Anadolu LHD. What is the added value of this Navantia system?

Jorge García MONEDERO: The IPMS is a system distributed all over the ship that integrates the different systems that belong to the platform and allows their control and monitoring, providing a high level of automation to reduce the crew, integrating all knowledge areas onboard: operation, availability, operability (maintenance) and damage control.

The IPMS organizes and presents the information in the optimal way to help the crew get the knowledge of the platform’s state and make the best decisions, monitoring and controlling the Propulsion, Power Plant, Auxiliaries and Damage Control.

Navantia IPMS is a very powerful system with great growth potential in areas like smart maintenance, training and simulation, personnel location onboard and many others, in order to be able to keep up with the new missions of the Anadolu to be defined by the TNFC. Navantia is working with Turkish companies to assure that the IPMS can be supported locally. 

Defence Turkey: What can you highlight about this contract and the work with SEDEF?

Jorge García MONEDERO:  SEDEF and Navantia have probed that the partnership and the collaborative model set at the beginning of the program has been the key element of our success. SEDEF is a great shipyard with fantastic capabilities and people. 

Navantia and SEDEF have been working shoulder with shoulder as partners to assure the success of the program, our common objective. We have learned from each other during these years, exchanging knowledge during the different phases of the program, with the final result of Anadolu being delivered to the TNFC and looking forward to future opportunities together like the possible second vessel or the support of Anadolu.

“We Have Identified and Selected Many Local Suppliers in Order to Make the Ship a Reality!”

Defence Turkey: How was the process of developing and working with a local supply chain?

Jorge García MONEDERO:  It is a complex task, and it couldn’t be done without SEDEF. We have identified and selected many local suppliers in order to make the ship a reality. Navantia and SEDEF have been supporting the Turkish Industry to understand and adapt some of their products for the LHD. Although it is not an easy task, we are prepared for it due to our international experience. 

Defence Turkey: What other products and services can Navantia offer to the Turkish Navy?

Jorge García MONEDERO: Navantia has already a presence in Türkiye, we are working to increase our presence by strengthening our partnership with local companies, such as  SEDEF and others. Navantia’s capabilities in sustainment and new construction is a great asset for the Turkish Navy, in that regard, our portfolio has significant capabilities that can be of the interest to the Turkish Navy. 

Defence Turkey: Mr. MONEDERO thank you for sparing time for our readers and good luck.