Türkiye achieved another historic milestone in its unmanned combat aviation program during the DENİZKURDU-2025 Naval Exercise, as Bayraktar TB3 unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) carried out live-fire missions from TCG Anadolu, the nation’s flagship and the world’s first UCAV carrier. The test marked the first successful precision strike conducted from a Turkish naval platform using a ship-launched UCAV.

The PT-3 and PT-4 prototypes of Bayraktar TB3, developed indigenously by Baykar, had been deployed aboard TCG Anadolu after completing flight and logistics transfers from Keşan on May 9, 2025. Equipped with the ASELSAN-developed ASELFLIR-500 electro-optical targeting system, the aircraft identified and locked onto the designated target before releasing a MAM-L precision munition, scoring a direct hit. Following the strike, the TB3s successfully returned and landed on TCG Anadolu’s deck, completing all mission phases flawlessly.

The Bayraktar TB3’s foldable wing design allows it to operate efficiently from short-deck naval platforms, while its beyond-line-of-sight (BLOS) communication capability enables control over long ranges, even beyond the horizon. This capability provides Türkiye with a major strategic advantage, enabling reconnaissance, surveillance, and precision strike operations against distant maritime and land-based targets.

Experts note that the successful integration of smart munitions, autonomous deck operations, and indigenous sensors demonstrates Türkiye’s growing dominance in naval drone warfare. The trial also validated the TB3’s compatibility with ship-based ammunition loading procedures and autonomous landing/takeoff systems — key elements for sustained carrier operations.

With this achievement, the Bayraktar TB3 stands out as one of the most capable UCAVs in its class worldwide, reinforcing Türkiye’s ambition to project power across the seas and strengthen its “Blue Homeland” (Mavi Vatan) doctrine. The success of the DENİZKURDU-2025 live-fire exercise represents another leap forward in the integration of air and naval technologies within the Turkish Armed Forces.