Turkish Navy Achieves Breakthrough in Carrier-Based Drone Operations

The Turkish Navy and drone manufacturer Baykar appear to have achieved a notable advance in the use of drones from flat tops during the recent Exercise Sea Wolf 2025, held in the Eastern Mediterranean in mid-May. The exercise featured Baykar’s TB3 drone, a navalized and upgraded version of the widely-exported TB2 drone, which also features a retractable undercarriage and folding wings to permit below-deck hangar storage.

A Baykar corporate video shows three Bayraktar TB3 drones taking off and landing from the flight deck of TCG Andalou (L400), the Turkish Navy’s amphibious assault ship. Take-offs were achieved without catapult assistance, using the full 220-meter length of Andalou’s flight deck, which culminates in a ski ramp. Landings without arrestor gear appear to be achieved using about 100 meters of flight deck. Baykar reports that both take-offs and landings were conducted autonomously, though the examples seen in the company video were conducted in fine weather and flat calm conditions without pitch or yaw. Flight operations appear to require a clear deck, which might not be necessary on a larger ship with an angled flight deck.

The TB3 drones each carried two Roketsan MAM-L precision-guided missiles, which were used to carry out attacks on a ground target. Developed specifically for use on drones and with a relatively small warhead, these 22-kg missiles have a stand-off range of 15 kilomters.

The project to adapt the TB3 for flat-top operations was given particular urgency when in 2019, with the TCG Andalou project underway, the United States dropped Turkey from the international team to build the F-35B – the stealth fighter which was to be deployed on the ship.

Baykar’s technical achievement poses a number of interesting questions, not the least why Baykar has been able to achieve such rapid progress in operationalizing its TB3 for naval use while other navies have not progressed from trials and experimental development.

Whilst the focus of Exercise Sea Wolf 2025 was on offensive use of drones, the TB3 has other attractive flight characteristics: an endurance of up to 32 hours, and a range of more than 500 miles at medium altitude. Carrying a multi-mode AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, as is being developed for the TB3 by Turkish company Arselan, a carrier strike group with a constellation of TB3s could have persistent, wide area surveillance, with redundancy and overlap. Such a capability might be envied by the HMS Prince of Wales as it approaches the Red Sea, protected as it is for now by the helicopter-mounted Crowsnest radar system - in an environment where slow-moving aerial targets have proven vulnerable to Houthi air defense systems.

From a capability perspective, where Baykar has led, others are sure to attempt to follow close behind. There may be a plethora of imitators, and hence a widening of the effectiveness of navies that never before had such a long-range strike capability. To illustrate, in February Indonesia ordered 60 TB3s and is contemplating acquiring a flat-top helicopter carrier. Among others, Australia, Egypt, Italy and Spain already deploy suitable flat-tops. Even the Iranian IRGC Navy might be able to fly and recover unmanned aircraft from the decks of its drone carrier, the converted container ship Shahid Bagheri (C110-4).