Tatlıoğlu: Türkiye’s national aircraft carrier will be world’s first to use unmanned systems jointly

Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu said Türkiye’s national aircraft carrier, due to be launched next year, will operate unmanned aerial, surface and underwater vehicles together, making it the first of its kind in the world.

Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu made statements during the Distinguished Observer Day of the National Unmanned Maritime Systems Exercise-2026 (TURNAs-2026), held for the first time in Antalya.

Tatlıoğlu said the national aircraft carrier scheduled to be launched next year would carry not only unmanned aerial vehicles but also unmanned surface vessels, boats and underwater vehicles. “Our aircraft carrier is different from other aircraft carriers in this respect as well,” Tatlıoğlu said, adding that it would be the first aircraft carrier in the world to use different unmanned systems together.

“One of the world’s leading naval forces”

“Today, the Turkish Naval Forces are one of the world’s leading naval forces in terms of unmanned aerial vehicles,” Tatlıoğlu said. “We are also rapidly increasing the number of unmanned maritime vehicles operating in different dimensions of naval operations.”

ULAQ unmanned surface vessel (archive)

Tatlıoğlu noted that unmanned vehicles were also being used extensively to detect and neutralize mines in the Black Sea.

17 companies and 41 systems take part in exercise

Seventeen companies participated in the exercise, which Tatlıoğlu described as “historic,” with 41 systems. Unmanned surface, underwater, aerial and land vehicles were used in hybrid operations alongside crewed systems.

Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu

Tatlıoğlu said the TEPE-class destroyer currently under construction and the next-generation minehunter were also designed to conduct hybrid operations with unmanned systems. Tatlıoğlu had announced in August that the national aircraft carrier would be launched on September 27, 2027.

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