President of Defence Industries Prof. Dr İsmail Demir announced that the TCG ANADOLU Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) will enter into the inventory with a delay.
Participating in a television program, Demir said, “The launch of the ANADOLU ship has slowed down a little during this epidemic process. We've been waiting for the end of this year, it may wait until the middle of next year. Depending on the course of the epidemic, we want to put it into service as soon as possible. “
In the study where Sedef Shipyard was the main contractor, the ship was expected to be delivered to the Naval Forces Command in 2021. This date was later brought forward by changing the dates of some acceptance tests.
UAV Mission Period in ANADOLU
Demir stated that the issue of using F-35 aircraft on this platform was on the agenda, but this option was put aside due to the existing bilateral relations with the USA. Demir said, “When we think about what we can put as a striking force in the air next to the helicopters on this platform; We talked about this with Selçuk Bayraktar and his team, they are currently working on this issue. “What kind of changes can be made on the deck of the ship, what kind of catapult systems or capture systems can be installed, how the UAVs can land and take off,” he said.