TSAMTO, April 13. At the Sedef Shipyard in Tuzla (Istanbul) On April 10, in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, an official ceremony was held for the adoption of the new Anadolu UDC (L400) by the Turkish Navy.
At the same time, a ceremony was held to start cutting steel for the construction of new Istanbul-class frigates (ISTIF class) for the Turkish Navy as part of a project that is a continuation of the MILGEM program.
The Anadolu UDC is designed to transport and land amphibious troops as part of a battalion, conduct air operations involving UAVs and helicopters, use as a control ship or floating hospital and support humanitarian aid operations.
As reported by TSAMTO, in December 2013, the Executive Committee of the Turkish Defense Industry decided to select the shipbuilding company SEDEF Gemi Insaati as the preferred candidate to win the tender for the supply of a new DVKD under the Havuzlu Cikarma Gemisi (HCG) program. The contract for the construction of the ship was signed by the Defense Industry Secretariat of the Ministry of Defense of Turkey (SSM) with SEDEF Gemi Insaati in May 2015. The construction was carried out on the basis of the UDC (L-61) "Juan Carlos I" project developed by the Spanish company Navantia, adopted by the Spanish Navy. SEDEF and Navantia signed the corresponding contract on July 30, 2015. The total cost of the project is estimated at 1 billion. euro.
Navantia provided project development, technology transfer, equipment and provided technical assistance to SEDEF during the construction of the ship in Turkey. The agreement included, among other things, the supply of 5 diesel generators manufactured by Navantia, as well as an integrated platform management system.
Steel cutting for the construction of Anadolu began on April 30, 2016. The ceremony of laying the keel of the ship took place at the SEDEF Gemi Insaati enterprise in Tuzla (Istanbul) on February 7, 2018, the launch took place on May 4, 2019. According to the contract, the delivery must be completed within five and a half years after the conclusion of the contract, however, for various reasons, these deadlines were violated. The DVKD was transferred to the Turkish Navy in January 2023.
The HCG program assumed the supply, in addition to the DVKD, of four landing craft LCM (landing craft mechanized) boats. The procurement project also provides for the supply of 27 amphibious armored personnel carriers (AAV), two LCPV landing boats, a control boat and one rigid-hulled inflatable dinghy. An amphibious hovercraft (LCAC) will be purchased separately.
The length of the ship is 230.8 m, the maximum width is 32 m, the draft is 6.9 m, the total displacement is 27514 tons. The maximum speed is 21 knots, the range is 9,000 nautical miles at a speed of 15 knots, the autonomy is 90 days, the crew is 261 people.
The ship's armament includes the RAM SAM, five 25-mm remotely controlled STOP modules from Aselsan, three remotely controlled STAMP modules with a 12.7-mm machine gun from Aselsan, two Phalanx ZAKS from Raytheon. The ship is equipped with traps to counteract the RCC, a system of protection against torpedoes. DVKD can accept airplanes, helicopters and tiltrotor planes.
There is an aircraft hangar with an area of 990 sq.m on board to accommodate at least 12 helicopters. The DVKD can transport four LCM landing craft or two LCAC hovercraft. It is planned to include shock UAVs of national design in the Anadolu aviation group.
Speaking at the ceremony of acceptance of the DVKD into the fleet, the President of Turkey R.Erdogan said that Anadolu will be able to receive Bayraktar TB3 UAVs, Kizilelma and HURJET light attack aircraft. UDC will provide transportation of up to 93 light and heavy wheeled and tracked armored vehicles, including 13 tanks.
