Turkish Navy Chief confirms September 2027 launch for first domestic MUGEM aircraft carrier.

Turkish Naval Forces Commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu confirmed at Teknofest Blue Homeland on August 23, 2026, that Türkiye will launch its first indigenous aircraft carrier, the MUGEM (Milli Uçak Gemisi), on September 27, 2027. The 60,000-tonne STOBAR-configured platform represents an operational pivot to multi-domain carrier architecture by integrating manned fighters with jet-powered unmanned combat air vehicles and autonomous maritime systems. Construction of the 285-meter hull continues at Istanbul Naval Shipyard toward a scheduled commissioning date in 2032.

The MUGEM features a 285-meter length, 72-meter beam, 10.1-meter draught, and a 60,000-tonne displacement, powered by a propulsion arrangement designed for speeds exceeding 26 knots and a 10,000-nautical-mile operational range. Equipped with a 12-degree modular ski-jump, 32 Midlas vertical launch cells, and capacity for 52 aircraft, the carrier is designed to deploy the Hürjet, Bayraktar Kızılelma, Anka-3, and TB3 alongside integrated unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.

Related topic: Discover how Türkiye’s first aircraft carrier will make drones a key weapon for naval warfare

The MUGEM's planned air wing will combine the manned naval Hürjet with three unmanned fixed-wing aircraft, the Kizilelma, Anka-3, and Bayraktar TB3, with a total capacity of 52 aircraft and the option to embark up to 52 Kizilelma in a single-type configuration. (Picture source: Turkish Defence Agency)

On August 23, 2026, Turkish Naval Forces Commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlioğlu confirmed at Teknofest Blue Homeland that Türkiye plans to launch its first indigenous aircraft carrier, the MUGEM (Milli Uçak Gemisi), on September 27, 2027, roughly 33 months after construction began at Istanbul Naval Shipyard on January 2, 2025. The MUGEM program began in 2023 with Concept of Operations development, feasibility work, and analysis of alternatives; moved through concept and preliminary design; and entered detailed and contract design activity during 2026, while hull construction was already underway. The Turkish aircraft carrier is planned for delivery in 2032, leaving roughly four to five years after launch for outfitting, system integration, harbor testing, sea trials, and verification.

The MUGEM is a purpose-designed STOBAR carrier rather than a derivative of the TCG Anadolu amphibious assault ship: the carrier is planned at 285 m length, 72 m maximum beam, 10.1 m draught, and roughly 60,000 tonnes displacement, making it 55 m longer and about 2.2 times heavier than the TCG Anadolu by displacement. Accommodation is planned for as many as 2,500 personnel, compared with earlier ship crew figures near 800, because the larger total now includes aviation personnel, maintainers, command staff and other embarked elements. The flight deck combines a 12-degree ski-jump, three take-off lanes, an arrested landing area and capacity for 52 aircraft, while the hull also incorporates facilities for unmanned surface and underwater vehicles.

Tatlioğlu additionally said the ship can carry 52 Kizilelma unmanned combat aircraft, as part of a mixed air wing planned around the Hürjet, the Kizilelma, the Anka-3, the TB3, and potentially a navalized variant of the Kaan. The MUGEM's propulsion and hydrodynamic requirements are driven by a 60,000-tonne hull expected to sustain more than 26 knots at maximum speed while retaining a 10,000-nautical-mile range at 14 knots. At 14 knots, 10,000 nautical miles corresponds to 714.3 hours of continuous steaming, or 29.8 days, before replenishment if the entire nominal range is used. Earlier propulsion planning centered on four GE LM2500 gas turbines rated at roughly 23 MW each, giving roughly 92 MW of combined output, together with electric-drive functions and a twin-shaft arrangement using controllable-pitch propellers.

The logic of the electric component is operational rather than cosmetic: gas turbines are efficient at high power but comparatively inefficient at low speed, so the PTI-PTO arrangement allows propulsion and electrical generation loads to be managed without relying continuously on all four turbines. Hull-form development has included towing-tank testing and CFD analysis at 26 knots to examine bow-wave formation, resistance, and water reaching the forward flight deck. Bow optimization has been associated with a 1.5% fuel-consumption reduction, while the Turkish Naval Design Project Office is developing the propellers through physical-model production, towing-tank trials, and numerical analysis with an efficiency target of at least 70%. Seakeeping work includes active stabilizers and air-wake studies, while cooperation with ODTÜ/Middle East Technical University has included wind-tunnel testing to define the airflow over the deck and around the island.

The ship is also being designed for unrestricted aviation operations through Sea State 6, a condition associated with significant wave heights of roughly 4 to 6 m. The aviation arrangement is initially a STOBAR (Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery), which means the MUGEM will not use catapults in its first configuration. Like on China's Shandong and India's INS Vikrant, aircraft will accelerate under their own engine thrust and use the 12-degree ski-jump at the bow to obtain the required departure trajectory, while returning aircraft will engage arresting gear during landing. The current deck arrangement includes three take-off lanes and one landing area, compared with earlier configurations associated with two take-off lanes, while total capacity has increased from 50 to 52 aircraft. The earlier 50-aircraft arrangement divided the air group between 30 aircraft in the hangar and 20 on the flight deck, equivalent to a 60% internal and 40% deck-stowed distribution.

Raising the nominal total to 52 increases capacity by only two aircraft, or 4%, but that additional capacity has to come from deck spotting, hangar organization, aircraft dimensions, or handling practices rather than a hull increase. The ski-jump itself is modular, allowing its removal if Türkiye's indigenous catapult program reaches operational maturity and the Navy later converts the ship toward CATOBAR (Catapult-Assisted Take-Off But Arrested Recovery) operations. That would improve launch-weight constraints, as a catapult could provide external launch energy instead of forcing each aircraft to reach the required speed only through its own engines and the ski-jump. Until then, aircraft performance has to be matched to deck run, acceleration distance, wind-over-deck conditions, take-off mass, and ski-jump geometry. This is why land-based test ramps and carrier aircraft compatibility work are being pursued in parallel by Türkiye, rather than after the MUGEM delivery.

The planned air group is unusual because three of the four fixed-wing families are unmanned. The Kizilelma is the main jet-powered unmanned combat aircraft associated with the MUGEM, and Tatlioğlu's remark indicates that the carrier's deck, hangar, and handling concept can accommodate an all-Kizilelma loadout if required. The Anka-3 adds a second jet-powered unmanned aircraft but uses a flying-wing configuration, creating a different deck footprint and different low-speed aerodynamic behavior from the Kizilelma. The Bayraktar TB3 is substantially smaller and was designed specifically for short-deck naval operations, making it suitable for missions where larger jet-powered aircraft would consume unnecessary hangar and deck space. The Hürjet is the only manned fixed-wing aircraft family currently included in the carrier plan, but the intended aircraft is a naval variant rather than the existing land-based trainer/light combat aircraft.

Shipboard adaptation requires the aircraft to withstand arrested-recovery loads, repeated hard deck landings, saltwater corrosion, and a different low-speed approach environment, while landing gear, arresting-hook installation, structural fatigue margins, and flight-control logic must be matched to carrier operations. The original 30-hangar and 20-deck allocation therefore represented more than a capacity figure: it established how many aircraft could be protected and maintained internally while preserving enough deck space for launch, recovery and aircraft movement. The 52-aircraft configuration pushes those margins slightly further without increasing the hull dimensions.

Air-wake analysis and wind-tunnel testing are directly linked to this issue because the island, flight deck and bow distort airflow during approach, and those effects will differ for a conventional Hürjet, a Kizilelma with a different control layout, a flying-wing Anka-3 and the much smaller TB3, even though there are also rumours of an adapted carrier-based version of the Kaan fighter jet. The MUGEM is also being configured to operate unmanned vehicles on the surface and below the waterline, not only aircraft. Tatlioğlu said the Turkish Naval Forces already field five USV types, two types of kamikaze USVs and three UUV types, creating an existing inventory that can potentially be connected to the carrier's command architecture. Aselsan's relevant USVs include the Albatros-K and the Albatros-S for reconnaissance, surveillance, and swarm operations, the Marlin for ISR, anti-surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, and electronic warfare, and the Tufan for high-speed autonomous missions.

In the underwater domain, the Kiliç 10 and the Kiliç 200 provide autonomous strike options, while the Deringöz is intended for underwater ISR and mine-countermeasure work. Havelsan's Sancar can conduct ISR, surface warfare, and mine countermeasures and is already integrated with the Advent CMS, while the Çaka and the USV-12 address hybrid multi-domain and smaller coastal surveillance requirements. STM's Neta family covers reconnaissance, seabed mapping, and mine countermeasures underwater, while the Yaktu provides another high-speed USV option. Meteksan's Ulaq family includes modular configurations for ISR, electronic warfare and anti-surface missions, while the Ulaq Kama is oriented toward high-speed autonomous attack; Dearsan's Salvo and MKE's Pirana add further options, with the Pirana intended as a kamikaze USV.

The MUGEM's dedicated USV and UUV deployment and recovery areas are therefore not simply storage spaces but interfaces between the ship and a broader unmanned force. The Advent CMS is intended to provide the common command layer linking these vehicles with the carrier, manned aircraft, unmanned aircraft and other Turkish warships, allowing sensor data and mission orders to move between air, surface and underwater assets. The carrier's own defensive suite is built around 32 Midlas vertical launch cells, arranged in two 16-cell modules, plus short-range missile and gun systems intended to protect the ship inside the outer defensive layers provided by escorts. The 2026 configuration includes three CIWS, four remote-controlled weapon stations and two point-defense missile systems, replacing the earlier 2024 arrangement of four Gökdeniz CIWS and six 25 mm Stop mounts.

Counting individual positions, the current layout therefore combines 32 VLS cells with nine separate close-range or point-defense weapon positions. The sensor mast includes the Çafrad multifunction and long-range radar functions, an LPI radar, IFF, an electro-optical director, and HF communications. Passive sensing is provided by infrared tracking and electronic support systems, allowing target detection without depending exclusively on active radar transmission. Electronic warfare includes both electronic support and electronic attack functions as well as laser electronic attack, creating several countermeasure options in the RF and electro-optical bands. Satellite communications use X-, Ku-, and Ka-bands, providing three separate frequency ranges for beyond-line-of-sight connectivity, while the Advent integrates the carrier's own sensors, weapons, and unmanned systems into the wider naval network.

The operational limitation is equally important: 32 VLS cells are not enough to make a 60,000-tonne carrier independently responsible for wide-area fleet air defense during prolonged high-intensity combat. The MUGEM's organic weapons are therefore better understood as an inner defensive layer, while destroyers and frigates, particularly future TF-2000 air defense warfare destroyers, would be required to provide larger missile inventories, broader radar coverage and additional engagement channels around the carrier. The period between the September 2027 launch and the planned 2032 delivery will logically be dominated by integration. For the MUGEM construction, Türkiye is using a mega-block approach, allowing large sections to be produced with participation from multiple Turkish shipyards and then incorporated into the Istanbul Naval Shipyard assembly sequence, increasing the amount of work that can proceed in parallel.

Plans call for the four LM2500 turbines to be installed before launch, which avoids cutting open a more complete hull later to insert major propulsion machinery and leaves more of the post-launch workload concentrated on auxiliaries, electrical distribution, sensors, weapons, communications, accommodation, elevators, arresting equipment and aviation support systems. The maximum accommodation figure of 2,500 also demonstrates the scale of internal support required for carrier operations. Earlier figures near 800 personnel referred primarily to the ship's crew, while the larger number includes the air wing, maintainers, command personnel, medical staff, mission specialists and other embarked elements. Medical facilities are therefore planned to Role 2 Enhanced level and include two operating rooms, two dental clinics, a dental surgery room, triage areas, intensive care, burn treatment, radiology, an isolation room, 30-bed wards, a laboratory and pharmacy.

That allows the carrier to perform surgery, trauma stabilization, and inpatient treatment at sea rather than limiting medical capability to basic first aid and casualty holding. Vehicle and equipment ramps are planned at the stern and starboard side, providing additional logistics routes for stores, vehicles, and mission equipment. These facilities help explain the long post-launch interval: putting the hull into the water in 2027 is a structural milestone, while turning it into a carrier capable of coordinating 52 aircraft, unmanned maritime vehicles, missile defenses, sensors, communications, and a crew population potentially reaching 2,500 requires several additional years of integration and trials. The MUGEM aircraft carrier is also being built inside a Turkish naval construction cycle substantially larger than the carrier program itself.

In August 2026, Tatlioğlu said 37 vessels were already under construction for the Turkish Naval Forces and the construction of another 10 would begin during the month, increasing the simultaneous domestic workload to 47 warships. Turkish shipyards were also building 24 warships for foreign customers, producing a combined workload of 71 military vessels. The domestic group includes the MUGEM, the national fast attack craft, the national mine-hunting vessel, and the Kocatepe, the first TF-2000 air defense warfare destroyer. The existing surface fleet includes the Ada-class corvettes TCG Heybeliada, TCG Büyükada, TCG Burgazada, and TCG Kinaliada, while the İstanbul-class frigate program has already produced the TCG İstanbul and is continuing with TCG İzmir and TCG İzmit.

The submarine force is simultaneously transitioning to Reis-class AIP submarines, with TCG Piri Reis and TCG Murat Reis already launched and Hizir Reis approaching service. Naval weapons are being introduced at the same time: the Atmaca has replaced the U.S.-made Harpoon, and Tatlioğlu said a Turkish submarine fired an Atmaca at a target 190 km away roughly one month before his August 2026 remarks; the Akya heavy torpedo and the Malaman smart naval mine have also entered Turkish naval use.

For the MUGEM, these parallel programs are operationally relevant: an aircraft carrier requires destroyers for area air defense, frigates and helicopters for anti-submarine protection, submarines for underwater screening, replenishment ships for endurance, secure communications for distributed operations and indigenous weapons that can be replenished and sustained without depending entirely on foreign inventories. The September 2027 launch therefore marks the beginning of the ship's transition from hull construction to system integration, while its planned 2032 delivery is tied to a broader Turkish effort to field the escorts, submarines, missiles, torpedoes, mines and unmanned systems needed to make a 60,000-tonne carrier operationally usable as part of a complete naval force.

Written by Jérôme Brahy

Jérôme Brahy is a defense analyst and documentalist at Army Recognition. He specializes in naval modernization, aviation, drones, armored vehicles, and artillery, with a focus on strategic developments in the United States, China, Ukraine, Russia, Türkiye, and Belgium. His analyses go beyond the facts, providing context, identifying key actors, and explaining why defense news matters on a global scale.

Explore More Defense News

• Land Defense News
• Naval Defense News
• Defense Aerospace News