TCG Anadolu was intended to operate F-35Bs, but Turkey's purchase of the Russian S-400 led to its removal from the fighter program. Turkey could draw instead on a comparatively mature domestic drone industry. Drone development is accessible to smaller firms and regional powers in a way that high-end crewed combat-aircraft production often is not. The episode shows how a denied crewed-aircraft pathway can redirect naval aviation investment and give a regional power room to innovate.
Chapter · 23:58-26:29
TCG Anadolu turns an F-35 gap into a drone program
Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 program explains why TCG Anadolu became a prominent test of an uncrewed air group aboard an amphibious ship.