TCG Anadolu in Rotterdam Harbour

At the end of January four Turkish Navy warships started a naval deployment that lasted 87 days, which ended on 16 April.

During this deployment they participated in NATO exercises Steadfast Dart, Cold Response and Neptune Strike. They operated in three international waters, North Sea, Baltic Sea and the Mediterranean Sea. During this deployment several harbors were visited, Rotterdam was one of them. The ships involved in this deployment were the TCG Istanbul, TCG Oruçreis,TCG Derya and the TCG Anadolu. The TCG Derya docked at the Waalkade and the three other ships docked at the Holland Amerikakade which was an impressive sight with the skyline of Rotterdam City in the background.

The TCG Anadolu is a 232-meter-long drone carrier amphibious assault shipnamed after the Anatolian Peninsula, which in Turkish is Anadolu. This ship ist he world’s first ship with unmanned aircraft on board and has been in service since April 2023. This ship meets the various needs of the Turkish armed forces, such as supporting long-term military combat, humanitarian aid operations, and it serves as the command center for the Turkish navy. The ship also fulfills multiple roles, such as transport, Search and Rescue (SAR) and anti-submarine warfare.The aviation part of this deployment consisted in total of four S-70, three AS-532, three AH-1 and three Bayraktar TB3 drones. The TCG Istanbul, TCG Oruçreis and TCG Derya each carried an S-70 while the others were all on board of the TCG Anadolu.

The authors of Lowpass Aviation would like to thank the personnel of theTurkish Navy for their hospitality and help during our visit to the TCG Anadolu!