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Turkish Aircraft Carrier [Türk uçak gemisi] ?

In June 2016, the Turkish president said his country had “no obstacle” to domestically build a full-fledged aircraft carrier “under the current government.” Erdogan said Turkey would be ready to begin construction of such a warship after its amphibious assault ship, the TCG Anadolu, is completed in 2021. 0n 03 July 2017 Erdogan said Turkey is “committed” to building its own aircraft carriers the Turkish President has said. Recep Tayyip Erdogan added that Ankara is seeking self-sufficiency in its defense industry and will not allow anyone to block its military initiatives. “We will build our own aircraft carriers,” Erdogan said at the launching ceremony of the new Turkish Kinaliada Corvette at the Istanbul Navy shipyard.

"We have completely finished the implementation of 14 naval vessel projects, another 10 [projects] will follow. We will also build our own aircraft carrier. We have firm resolve to do it and do not doubt the [project's] success. We have to make Turkey one of the leaders in military shipbuilding, and our [own] aircraft carrier is not a distant dream for us anymore," Erdogan said. It is not entirely clear what the President had in mind with these statements.

• Possibly as a senior political leader, Erdogan has no idea what he is talking about. In common parlance, the terms warship and battleship are frequently used interchangably, while the nautically minded understand the important differences. Or some reporters might not notice the difference. Indeed, the LHD Anadolu is frequently referenced in the Turkish press as "Türk uçak gemisi" - Turkish aircraft carrier.
• The TCG Anadolu (L-408) amphibious assault ship (LHD) can be configured as a light aircraft carrier with F-35B VSTOL aircraft. The the vessel is designed for multipurpose missions, it will be able to transport tanks, landing vessels, helicopters, soldiers, and aircraft. Anadolu will be able to hold upwards of 10 F-35Bs. Additionally, the carrier could hold upwards of 12 helicopters, 94 battle tanks, and at least 700 troops.
• The Andalou is configured as an amphibious assault ship (LHD) with both aviation and amphibious accomodations. Possibly the follow-on unit will be largely based on the Andalu, but only with aviation accomodations. In the Untied States, The LHA-6 and LHA-7 America -class amphibious decks have enhanced aviation capabilities, and amphibious accomodations. Hence the LHA deisgnation, A for aviation, versus LHD, D for dock. Such a ship would be generally similar to the Andalu, minus the
• Possibly Edorgan knows whereof he speaks, and Turkey plans to build an actual aircraft carrier. Based on the French experiene with the Charles de Gaulle, such a vessel might have a displacement of rather over 40,000 tons [only twice that of the Andalou], and a length of 260 meters / 850 feet [a bit longer than the 231 meter Anadolu].

Probably a "Turkish Aircraft Carrier" is a mis-conception lost in translation. But the idea is not implausible. Shipbuilding in Turkey has evolved from an old traditional activity in Anatolia to an internationally recognised industry, especially since the early 1990s. The industry has modern, quality certified shipyards, and is considered to be one of the most promising industrial sectors in Turkey. There are now yards that are capable of building a wide range of commercial vessels, such as petroleum and product tankers, heavy freighters and multipurpose container ships. There are presently five private yards awarded naval contracts which also engage in commercial shipbuilding, a practice that exists in other countries. Turkey has consistently ranked among the top ten shipbuilding countries in the world.

While warship construction [with many compartments and complex interconnections] is significantly more challenging than most commercial vessels [which are sheet metal big boxes], Turkey has a demonstrated capacity to build warships, and the jump from Anadolu to an aircraft carrier of twice the diplacement is no greater than the jump to Anadolu. As with other Turkish warship projects, there are several firms that would be delighted to design the aircraft carrier - such as DCNS of France, Fincanctieri of Italy, or Cochin Shipyard of India - all of which have designed similar sized ships. Recent designs in Russia and China have focused on rather larger vessels, but China might be prevailed upon to provide catepults, for instance.