Turkey commissioned TCG Anadolu, the world's first drone strike ship - the deck can accommodate up to 12 F-35B fifth-generation fighter jets

The Turkish Navy has commissioned the TCG Anadolu multi-purpose amphibious assault ship. It is the first ship in the world designed to accommodate unmanned aerial vehicles.

Here's What We Know

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan attended the ceremony. According to him, the new landing craft will use 70 percent Turkish technology. Work on the TCG Anadolu began in the spring of 2016. The project took almost seven years to complete. Erdogan called the ship "a source of pride for Turkey".

TCG Anadolu is 231 metres long, 32 metres wide and 58 metres high. The ship can accommodate 10 helicopters or 11 drones on deck and 19 helicopters or 30 drones in the hangar. In addition, TCG Anadolu can carry 12 F-35B Lightning II fifth-generation short take-off and vertical landing fighters.

As for the unmanned aerial vehicles, they are Bayraktar Kizilelma and Bayraktar TB3. The head of Turkey's Defence Industry Directorate, Ismail Demir, said Bayraktar TB3 would begin testing aboard a landing craft in 2023.

TCG Anadolu is equipped with Phalanx CIWS anti-aircraft guns, Aselsan STOP RCWS artillery units and RAM surface-to-air missile systems. Other systems onboard include the SMART-S Mk.2 S-band radar, torpedo defense system, GENESIS-ADVENT information system and the SPN-720 radar station, which allows for all-weather landings.

Source: Anadolu Agency