First steel cut for Turkish LHD ship

Turkey began construction of the nation’s first amphibious assault ship with a steel cutting ceremony on April 30.

Based on the Spanish Navy’s landing helicopter dock (LHD) Juan Carlos I and designed by Navantia, the Turkish version of the ship will be named TCG Anadolu and have the pennant number L-408.

Turkish Undersecretariat for Defence Industries, together with the Sedef shipyard which will construct the ship, on September 18, 2015, signed an agreement with Navantia under which the Spanish company will act as a technology partner.

Apart from the design, Navantia will also deliver 5 sets of diesel generators and the IPMS (Integrated Platform Management System) which will be developed at its facilities in Cartagena.

The Spanish company has already built three ships of this type, the Juan Carlos I for the Spanish Navy and two similar for Australia, HMAS Canberra and Adelaide.

The Turkish version of the ship, which will be registered as a light aircraft carrier by the Turkish Lloyd, is scheduled to be delivered to the Navy in 2021.

With a displacement of 28,000 tonnes at full load and a length of 225 meters, the ship will be capable of reaching speeds of up to 21 knots.