Turkey has commenced the construction of its first fully-fledged aircraft carrier under the MÜGEM project. The first steel cutting for the new vessel took place last week, on the second day of the new year 2025, at a shipyard in Istanbul, as reported by the country's Navy.
For Turkey, the construction of the MÜGEM, the project of which was finalized in late summer 2024, represents a truly national initiative and marks the first experience in building genuine aircraft carriers. It will measure 285 meters in length, with a width of 72 meters and a displacement of 60,000 tons. In comparison, the British Queen Elizabeth weighs 70 tons, while the French Charles de Gaulle weighs 42 tons.
The MÜGEM will have an air wing capable of accommodating up to 50 aircraft. However, due to the absence of a fully operational carrier-based fighter, its composition will be somewhat unconventional. The only manned aircraft will be the combat variant of the training aircraft Hürjet, which has rather limited combat capabilities. This will be offset by drones: the reconnaissance-strike TB3 and the Kızılelma fighter drone from Bayraktar, as well as the strike Anka-3, which made its maiden flight in December 2023.
Currently, the aircraft carrier will be equipped with a ski-jump, but there are plans to eventually fit it with a catapult. The latter could diversify the air group composition, particularly with a special version of the national fighter KAAN. It is important to note that the construction timeline for the MÜGEM remains undisclosed, but it is likely projected for the 2020s to 2030s.
It is worth mentioning that Turkey already has its first aircraft carrier in service - TCG Anadolu (L 400)
with a displacement of
24.6 tons. However, it
was created based on the Spanish
Juan Carlos I, which is closer to universal amphibious assault ships. Additionally, since the Anadolu
was originally designed
for the F-35B, whose acquisition became impossible due to the purchase of Russian S-400 systems, it has been
requalified as a "drone carrier": featuring Kızılelma and Bayraktar TB3.
Considering that, in addition to Anadolu, Turkey plans to have another similar vessel, Trakya, along with the MÜGEM, this will formally expand the aircraft carrier capabilities of the Turkish Navy to three ships. In comparison, Italy has only the 35,000-ton Cavour, France has the mentioned Charles de Gaulle, and only the United Kingdom has two Queen Elizabeth-class aircraft carriers. Meanwhile, the area of responsibility for European states is significantly broader than that of Turkey.