First Steel Cut for Turkish LHD L-400 “Anadolu” – Magnificent Vessel, Pride of the Turkish Naval Forces
The first steel cut for the Multi-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship TCG “Anadolu” was accomplished on April 30th, 2016 with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
In addition to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Turkish Parliamentary Speaker İsmail Kahraman, Minister of National Defence İsmet Yılmaz, Minister of Transportation, Maritime Affairs and Communication Binali Yıldırım, Minister of Youth and Sports Çağatay Kılıç, Minister of Labor and Social Security Süleyman Soylu, Commander of Turkish Armed Forces Hulusi Akar, Commander of Naval Forces Full Admiral Bülent Bostanoğlu and many invitees attended the ceremony held at the Sedef Shipyard’s campus in Istanbul.
President Erdoğan addressed the participants at the ceremony and said, “I would like to thank everyone who will contribute to the manufacturing of this ship to which fighter jets such as the F-35, capable of vertical take – off and landing, could be deployed. This ship, on which even the greatest and heaviest helicopters could land and take-off from, will allow us to conduct military and humanitarian operations all over the world when required. The strengthened and developed Turkey has to make its presence felt actively across its borders. I regard this step as a late one in this era in which the threats towards our country are growing while we are obliged to become more present in the international area. This nation has to take matters into their own hands. We have to accelerate the preparations suitable for our country’s new position in respect to threats and opportunities while we sensitively follow the existing projects in defense industry”.
Commander of the Naval Forces Full Admiral Bülent Bostanoğlu stated that they gathered to realize the dream which they have been enthusiastically expecting for a long time and continued, “With the construction to be initiated soon, the very first step on the path to the realization of a dream will be taken. “ANADOLU” which will become the greatest assault ship of the Republic’s Navy will not only bring to fruition the dreams of the Turkish Naval Forces, but also the dreams of the entire Turkish Nation. As known, battle ships are not merely considered as an indicator of military power. They are also the symbols of prestige, displaying all the national power components of a state. Therefore the navies have been regarded as an active foreign policy instrument since the peace era by all governments. Currently, with its medium-scaled force transfer capability and land impact capacity, our Naval Forces are amongst the first fifteen naval forces in 162 naval forces existing in the world. It is obvious that theTurkish Naval Forces will advance in this ranking with the launch of this glorious platform after the 2020s”.
Full Admiral Bostanoğlu stated that the ship was named “Anadolu” as it will be keeping the Turkish flag flying with honor by carrying it to all seas and representing the magnificence of the country’s land. It will be gaining many new capabilities to our Naval Forces with its dock and flight deck and he added, “With this platform which is planned to be put into service in 2021, our army will be able to transfer its forces to any place in the world, it will be able to perform operations at overseas geographies for long periods without requiring the support of a main base, it will be able to deploy 1 naval infantry battalion within the scope of an Amphibious Operation, it will be able to perform Ship-to-Shore Maneuver with the landing vehicles it will carry on its well deck, and conduct Ship-to-Target Maneuvers with the help of the transport and attack helicopters that it will deploy. It will be able to assume the role of an aircraft carrier with the F-35B strike fighters capable of “Short Take-Off and Vertical Landing”, it will be able to conduct the task of NATO High Readiness Force Naval Headquarters, which is currently executed by a limited number of NATO member countries. It will be able to act as a Hospital Ship when necessary and will have the capabilities to strongly support diplomacy with its active function in non-combatant operations; primarily with the Evacuation of Non-Combatants and Natural Disaster Aid.”
Photos were taken and the first steel cut and breeding of the ship was conducted following the speeches.
LPD platform transformed into LHD through design modifications
The Multi-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship (LPD) Project on the procurement of 1 Multi-Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship (LHD), 4 Landing Crafts Mechanized, 2 Landing Craft Vehicles for Personnel, 2 rigid hull inflatable boats (RHIB) and 1 commander boat for guidance was signed on June 1st, 2015 by the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries and Sedef Gemi İnşaat A.Ş. and the contract entered into effect on September 18th, 2015.
During the contract negotiations that started after Navantia – Sedef Shipyard partnership won the tender, the ship was initially identified as an LPD but the Naval Forces requested certain design modifications over the ship in order to fulfill the operation requirements. With the ongoing and completed modifications, the ship was transformed into an LHD platform from an LPD platform and as part of the Defense Industry Executive Committee’s resolution dated March 9th, 2016, the decision was made to designate the ship as an LHD.
A flight deck allowing the landing of more helicopters was formed with the retrofits conducted in the configuration. On the other hand, though it was not stipulated in the contract, a “Ski-Jump” inclined 12 degrees enabling the landing and take-off of the aircrafts was included in the contract as well. An elevator was added to the bow and an electronic infrastructure supporting the approach of air vehicles to the ship was included into the contract as well.
Turkey can become a Base in the Open Seas with TCG “Anadolu”
Multi – Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship - “Landing Helicopter Deck” (LHD) can be utilized in the operation areas at the Aegean, Black Sea and Mediterranean and if required at the Indian Ocean (north of the Arabian Peninsula and west of India) and at the Atlantic Ocean (west of Europe, northwest of Africa). TCG “Anadolu” will be able to deploy a single Amphibious Battalion and all the required combat and supporting equipment to the crises regions without the support of a main base, join landing operations with the landing equipment which is carried at its pool. It will have a flight deck allowing the night and day operation of air vehicles such as rotor V-22 Ospreyand, the bulkiest of NATO helicopters in the inventory. Moreover, Turkey aims to convert its regional force deployment capability into a medium – scaled global force deployment with the TCG Anadolu; due to the 12 degrees inclined ski-jump the ship allows the positioning of tactical aircrafts capable of vertical take-off and landing, such as the F-35B which Turkey aims to procure in the upcoming term and which is already included in the inventory of NATO member countries.
Promising a superior air force it the operation areas in the Open Seas, L-400 bow numbered TCG “Anadolu”s air vehicle capacity has been recently updated. According to the modifications displayed over the mock-up at the International Naval Force and Security Symposium held on April 13th, 2016, by the Naval Military Academy; six F-35-Bs, 4 Atak helicopters, 8 Medium Transport Helicopters, 2 Seahawk general purpose helicopters and 2 UAVs could be positioned. The Amphibious capacity of the ship is composed of 13 Altay Main Battle Tanks, 27 ZAHA (Armored Amphibious Assault Vehicles), 6 Armored Personnel Carriers and 48 miscellaneous vehicles of various classes. Furthermore, on-board will be equipped with 5x25 mm Aselsan STOP, 2 x Mk – 15 Block 1B Baseline 2 Phalanx CIWS and 1 x RIM-1169 Block 2 RAM CIWS weapon systems.
GENESIS ADVENT Combat Management System will be used on TCG “Anadolu”
With the help of the Multi – Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship GENESIS ADVENT Combat Management System, the control of the weapon and sensors and the ship will be defended while the task force command control and amphibious operation support are provided. The Land Forces, Air Forces and Amphibious Troop Command Control Systems, NATO War Headquarters will be positioned on the ship according to the task prior to the operation. In addition to the Combat Management System network, TSK-Net, Internet, NATO network, Message Operation System and Ship Administration local networks will exist within the Ship Information Systems infrastructure. The TCG Anadolu will have a dispensary/hospital with a 30 bed capacity with a surgery room, x-ray machines, dental care units, intensive care rooms, infection rooms and act as a Hospital Ship in humanitarian aid operations as well.
TCG “Anadolu” to be included in the inventory in 2021
The Spanish Company, Navantia, will provide the design support within the scope of the project and the design, building and system integration, performance and delivery of the ship will be executed by Sedef Shipyard. On the other hand, regarding the system and sub-system procurement; many systems and sub-systems will be conducted indigenously by domestic sub-contractor companies. In parallel with the aforementioned, systems such as the Combat Management System Integration and Operation Software Genesis – Advent, Electronic Warfare Suite containing Radar Electronic Attack and Counter Measures, Infrared Tracking System, Electro Optic Director, Torpedo Counter Deception Systems are aimed to be indigenously covered by the Aselsan – Havelsan Business Partnership.
The Multi – Purpose Amphibious Assault Ship TCG Anadolu is planned to be built in with a weight of 27,436 tons in fully loaded displacement and it will be 231 meters long. As the greatest naval platform in the Turkish Armed Forces inventory, the ship is planned to be delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces Command in 2021. Moreover, the activities for the procurement of a second ship, in the same class, is said to have been conducted within the context of the demands of the Turkish Naval Forces for the upcoming period.
