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Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) demonstrated a significant advancement in naval warfare capabilities during the Seawolf-II/2025 (DENIZKURDU-II 2025) naval exercise, as Bayraktar TB3 armed drones successfully conducted salvo strikes from the TCG Anadolu amphibious assault ship for the first time, military officials announced.
The exercise featured two prototype Bayraktar TB3 unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) launching from the TCG Anadolu and executing precision strikes against designated targets before returning to the vessel.
Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercument Tatlioglu highlighted the significance of the achievement, stating, "TB3s not only deployed from the ship but also opened the doors to a new era in naval combat for the Turkish Naval Forces."
"TB3s have changed naval warfare, implementing many new doctrines such as amphibious operations, submarine UAV operations, and commanding swarm unmanned surface vessels from UAVs," Tatlioglu added.
The exercise was observed from the TCG Anadolu by top military officials, including Land Forces Commander General Selcuk Bayraktaroglu, Air Forces Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadioglu, as well as defense industry leaders Haluk Gorgun, head of the Presidency of Defense Industries, Aselsan General Manager Ahmet Akyol and Baykar Board Chairman Selcuk Bayraktar.
The DENIZKURDU-II/2025 Exercise involved 120 ships, 85 naval and air units, and 22,700 personnel operating across the Black Sea, Marmara Sea, Aegean Sea, and Eastern Mediterranean, according to Admiral Tatlioglu.
Two notable achievements during the exercise were the launch of the domestically produced "Atmaca Guided Missile" and the combat operations performed by the Bayraktar TB3 drones from TCG Anadolu.
Land Forces Commander General Bayraktaroglu expressed pride in the demonstration, noting, "We witnessed a truly successful exercise today. The TB3 event is genuinely a world first and an extremely impressive achievement."
"As the Land Forces Command, we are perhaps the military force with the most UAVs and armed UAVs in the world. I want to state that we are in first place globally in terms of usage, management, and technology," he added.
Selcuk Bayraktar, chairman of drone manufacturer Baykar, emphasized Türkiye's leading position in the global market, stating, "Türkiye holds 65% of the world's armed UAV export market. Baykar alone has 60%. In large unmanned aerial vehicles, it is three times bigger than its closest competitor."
Bayraktar added that the Turkish Armed Forces is "the world's most advanced force" in terms of effectively using armed UAVs, particularly from a combat paradigm transformation and doctrine perspective.
Highlighting the international competition in this technology, Bayraktar noted, "A leading company from the United States and a company from Israel had said they would be the first in the world to do this. Of course, a race had begun at that time. Bayraktar TB3 and the Turkish Naval Forces were the first to cross the finish line."
Air Forces Commander General Kadioglu emphasized ongoing collaborative efforts between branches: "As the Air Forces Command responsible for the Sky Homeland above our Blue Homeland, we are advancing the process of jointly creating a sea and air concept and creating synergy."
Haluk Gorgun noted that "Turkish defense industry has now started to develop equipment that changes doctrines in the field of operations, in the battlefield with the products it develops and high-tech solutions."
Gorgun also announced recent decisions made in the defense industry executive committee, chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, including the approval to begin national submarine and TF 2000 destroyer projects.
"The defense industry is working diligently with its young and productive population to fulfill the needs of our heroic army in the shortest time and in a way that will provide the most superiority in the field," Gorgun said.
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