Erdogan presents new mega warship

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230 meters long and 32 meters wide: the new baby of Turkish head of state Recep Tayyip Erdogan is impressive at first glance. The timing of the presentation of the Turkish Navy’s newly completed aircraft carrier “TCG Anadolu” could not have been better. Because: the parliamentary and presidential elections will take place on 14 May.

Not only can heavy helicopters and drones easily land on the ship, it also features infrared search and tracking systems, laser warning systems and anti-torpedo defenses. It is “made in Türkiye”, 70 percent of the components and raw materials used come from Turkey, according to “Euronews”.

With his flashy appearance, Erdogan hopes for more votes from nationalist voters. In the latest survey by the opinion research institute “Metropoll”, challenger Kemal Kilicdaroglu (42.6 percent) is ahead of incumbent Erdogan (41.1 percent).

Ex-naval officer out of criticism

It remains to be seen whether Erdogan will actually succeed in turning things around with the presentation of the prestige project. A connoisseur is not very enthusiastic about the warship.

“The TCG Anadolu is not an aircraft carrier, but a landing ship with a flying platform,” former naval officer Türker Ertürk (66) writes on Twitter. Even the ship number starts with «L». What Ertürk means: In this case, the L stands for the English word “Landing”. Thus, it mainly performs transport duties and allows soldiers to land.

“They call it an aircraft carrier just to fool you. They hurriedly delivered it before the election. Without having tested it at all,” Ertürk claims.

Erdogan’s aggressive foreign policy

Erdogan’s words sound completely different. “Our ship is equipped in such a way that we can conduct military and humanitarian operations in any part of the world if necessary,” the incumbent Turkish president said at the ceremony on Monday. The ship is a turning point for the country’s defense industry.

Turkey has pursued a sometimes aggressive foreign policy under Erdogan in recent years. It is involved in several conflicts in the region, including in civil war-torn Syria. Relations with neighboring Greece are difficult, partly due to a dispute over sovereign rights and natural gas reserves in the eastern Mediterranean.

Source: Blick