Turkey Enhances Naval Air Capabilities With 2 New ATR-72 MPAs

[Zarvan]

Turkish Navy picture

Turkey Enhances Naval Air Capabilities With 2 New ATR-72 MPAs

The Turkish Navy has commissioned two ATR-72 (P-72 in Turkey) maritime patrol aircraft (MPA) as part of the MELTEM-III program, Turkey's top procurement official, Ismail Demir, announced on Twitter on December 16th.
Tayfun Ozberk 19 Dec 2021

The first P-72 (tail number TCB-751) was delivered to the Turkish Navy in 2020, with the second (TCB-752) commissioned in March 2021. The Turkish Navy boosted its P-72 MPA fleet to four with the delivery of the third and fourth P-72 MPAs (TCB-753 and TCG-754).

“We delivered two more P-72 Maritime Patrol Aircraft to the Turkish Navy as part of the Meltem-3 Project. Our Maritime Patrol Aircraft, which are a strategic component of our Naval Forces, help to strengthen our country’s power in the sky.”

Ismail Demir, Head of SSB

The last two aircraft to be produced within the project’s scope are planned to be completed in 2022.

Turkish Naval Air Command personnel with the new ATR-72 MPAs (Turkish MoD photo)

The MELTEM-III project was led by the Italian corporation Alenia Aermacchi / Leonardo, with significant support from the Turkish defense sector. The responsibilities of the sub-contractor companies are as follows;

• Turkish Aerospace (TUSAS) – Carrying out detailed part fabrication, aircraft modification, material supply, ground and flight test support, and Integrated Logistics Support activities,
• ASELSAN – System and device supply.
• Milsoft – Link 11 and Link 16 systems
• Havelsan – Naval Patrol Ground Station
• Thales – AMASCOS-300 mission management system and Ocean Master 400 radar.
• CAE – Supplying the AN/ASQ-508(V) Magnetic Anomaly Detector (MAD).

On July 12, 2012, Alenia Aermacchi S.p.A and TUSAS signed a deal for the Meltem III Program, which included the procurement of six ATR72-600 aircraft and their conversion to Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) configuration for the Turkish Navy. On April 19, 2013, the first ATR72-600 aircraft arrived at Turkish Aerospace’s facility.

Turkey’s Growing Naval Air Fleet

Turkish SH-70B Naval helicopter conducting SAR ops during Denizkurdu-2021 exercise (Turkish Navy photo)

While the Turkish Navy has been bolstering its Naval Air fleet with both manned and unmanned assets in recent years, the year 2021 has been the most fruitful for the Turkish Naval Air Command (TNAC). In 2021, SSB delivered three ATR-72 modern maritime patrol aircraft. Meanwhile, the Turkish Navy has commissioned Aksungur, the first high endurance unmanned combat aerial vehicle capable of flying continuously for more than 60 hours and will gain the capability of launching and monitoring sonobuoys in addition to its small strike capabilities to adversary surface units.

The inventory of TNAC declared by Rear Admiral Alper Yeniel, the Chief of the TNAC, during the Naval Systems Seminar held in Ankara on 15 and 16 November, as follows;

• 2xP-72 MPAs (this number increasd to 4 after commissioning two MPAs mentioned above)
• 6xP-235 MPAs
• 3xC-72 General Purpose Aircraft
• 4xTB-20 Training Aircraft
• 24xSH-70B SeaHawk ASW/ASuW helicopters
• 9xAB212 AsuW helicopters
• 9x BAYRAKTAR TB2 UCAVs
• 6x TAI ANKA UCAVs
• 1x AKSUNGUR UCAV

In addition to these assets, the Chief of TNAC stated that by the end of 2021, one more Aksungur UCAV will be acquired.

The Turkish Navy has 16 combat drones on its fleet (which will increase to 17 by the end of the year). This is significant because the Turkish Navy is one of the few navies in the world capable of simultaneously operating manned and unmanned assets on the naval scene. As previously reported by Naval News, during the Blue Homeland (Mavi Vatan) 2021 exercise in March 2021, the Turkish Navy’s Baykar-made TB-2 Bayraktar unmanned combat aerial vehicle (UCAV) hit a sea target from a maximum range of 15 kilometers. This was Turkey’s first manned-unmanned collaboration engagement with a sea target.

Photo of TB2 UCAV’s engagement of a sea target during Blue Homeland 2021

TNAC will gain sonobuoy launch and monitoring capability from a drone in 2022, in addition to surface warfare capabilities. TUSAS plans to launch the first sonobuoy from Aksungur UCAV in the first half of 2022, within the scope of the relevant project, which is still in testing. By providing continuous surveillance for more than 60 hours and launching/monitoring sonobuoys, Aksungur appears to be a useful asset in ASW operations, particularly against diesel-electric propelled submarines.

Aksungur UCAV fitted with MAM-L smart munitions

Another significant milestone for the TNAC is the acquiring of an AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopter in 2022. Turkish Land Forces Command plans to deliver ten AH-1W SuperCobra attack helicopters to Turkish Naval Forces in 2022 for deployment on the future Landing Helicopter Dock (LHD) amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu. For the first time, TNAC will be able to operate attack helicopters after the delivery.

Turkey Enhances Naval Air Capabilities With 2 New ATR-72 MPAs - Naval News

 

[Titanium100]

Good purecurement

 

[Battlion25]

I wouldn't mind videos on this exact addition as it would come handy and I am to lazy to google

 

[untitled]

Surprised Turkey never operated the P-3 Orion

 

[aziqbal]

these units took the best part of a decade to come to fruition

however the indigenous systems were worth it

6 units are on order in total this was the 3rd ad 4th

2 more are coming in 2022

deliverys as follows

TCB-751 and TCB-752 in 2020
TCB-753 and TCB-754 in 2021
TCB-755 and TCB-756 in 2022

 

[dBSPL]

The Meltem-3 project was really painful. The project was delayed for years over lots of problems. But finally, the platforms started to come into service one by one.

Surprised Turkey never operated the P-3 Orion

There are two possibility, about the next step of the Turkish navy: the first is acquiring 'Long Range Maritime Patrol Aircraft', which the former navy commander clearly mentioned. He described this platform as:

-It will be able to perform duties for 4 hours at 1,000 - 1,200 nautical miles distances from its home base and for approximately 10 hours in areas close to its home base. - Able to continuous flight for about 15 hours - It will be able to effectively fulfill the requirements of surface warfare, anti-submarine warfare, -will be able to effectively fulfill the requirements of air defense warfare within the scope of self-protection. - It will be able to operate in all weather conditions.

As can be seen here, Poseidon P-8 is actually being described, but this is very, very unlikely to happen. Alternatively there is the Airbus MPA320 and the Japanese Kawasaki P-1. The fact that no concrete steps have been taken for years may indicate either that this planning has been shelved or that the Airbus project is expecting to mature. Or maybe Antonov and TAI can cooperate over common project.

The second idea is for UAVs of various classes to acquire joint mission capability as a whole. As in the first example, it is not possible to combine all MPA systems in single UAV, but each of these payload/avionics groups, can be included in a distributed systems design over multiple UAVs. There are some clues suggesting that the Navy is also moving in this direction, and the acquiring of ANKA-II is one of the first important concrete steps taken in this direction. Because there are currently works on many MPA-related payloads for ANKA-II continues.

TNAC will gain sonobuoy launch and monitoring capability from a drone in 2022, in addition to surface warfare capabilities. TUSAS plans to launch the first sonobuoy from Aksungur UCAV in the first half of 2022, within the scope of the relevant project, which is still in testing. By providing continuous surveillance for more than 60 hours and launching/monitoring sonobuoys, Aksungur appears to be a useful asset in ASW operations, particularly against diesel-electric propelled submarines.

Aksungur UCAV fitted with MAM-L smart munitions

New generation Anka (30 hours endurance 350kg payload) and Anka-II (60 hours endurance 750kg payload capacity) can be dispatched and managed from the same operator console. It also provides ease of maintenance to the operator with common logistics. As a first stage, , it is aimed to gain sonobuoy carrying and listening capacity for ANKA-II.

 

[untitled]

As can be seen here, Poseidon P-8 is actually being described, but this is very, very unlikely to happen. Alternatively there is the Airbus MPA320 and the Japanese Kawasaki P-1

The Orion pre-dates all the aircraft mentioned above. Why wasn't it considered before?

 

[dBSPL]

The Orion pre-dates all the aircraft mentioned above. Why wasn't it considered before?

It is a discussion area where there is a lot of speculation and different kinds of claims about why Turkey lags in this area. Of course, resource management was also guiding priorities here. In the 1980s, when Turkey experienced great economic difficulties, the navy was also heavily dependent on foreign support. On the other hand, for the purchase of new systems, the priority was always about maintaining the deterrence of the submarine fleet and the combat surface fleet. The main threat perception at the time always predicted the risk of a battle in coastal waters. The air support and maritime patrol missions that the navy would need were completed through the air force.

Turkey is not an ocean country and its 8350 km coastline is in the form of a peninsula. However, the need for long-range maritime patrols has become increasingly evident, with the emergence of an understanding that is no longer centered on territorial waters, but also covers more distant seas, in terms of the new defense doctrine that has developed recently and the new capabilities that the force wants to achieve in the near future. The 2033 vision of the Turkish navy is to be a regional power factor with power projection capability. In this direction, long-range/endurance MPAs, which could not be anticipated in the past, have now become an irrevocable need.

 

[Titanium100]

long-range/endurance MPAs, which could not be anticipated in the past, have now become an irrevocable need.

The long-range is good in defensive measures when it comes to territorial waters defense.. I have seen there are also unmanned drone boats now patrolling the waters which is quite unique