New information has been shared regarding the delivery schedule and technical specifications of Türkiye’s National Aircraft Carrier MUGEM, which is being developed with domestic and national capabilities. Rear Admiral Hakan Uçar, Naval Technical Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, provided details on the current status of the project during his presentation at Combined Naval Event 2026, held in Farnborough, United Kingdom, on May 19-21. The presentation confirmed that MUGEM is targeted for delivery in 2032.

According to the announced schedule, the MUGEM project began in 2023 with operational concept development, feasibility studies and alternative analyses. Following the project definition and concept design phases, the program moved into the preliminary design stage. The preliminary design process is expected to evolve into detailed design and contract design phases around 2026, followed by construction, testing and verification activities. In line with this timeline, the ship is planned to be delivered to the Turkish Naval Forces in 2032.

According to the updated technical data, MUGEM is planned to have a length of 285 meters, a maximum beam of 72 meters, a draft of 10.1 meters and a displacement of 60,000 tons. The ship is expected to reach a maximum speed of over 26 knots and have a cruising speed of 14 knots. It is also planned to achieve a range of 10,000 nautical miles at 14 knots and accommodate up to 2,500 personnel. These features will make MUGEM one of Türkiye’s most strategic naval platforms for expanding blue-water operational capability.

Details regarding the ship’s air wing have also been updated. The aircraft capacity, previously stated as 50, has reportedly been increased to 52 platforms. The ship is planned to operate the naval version of HÜRJET, KIZILELMA unmanned combat aircraft, ANKA-3 and TB-3 unmanned aerial vehicles. MUGEM will use a STOBAR system, meaning Short Take-Off But Arrested Recovery, with a 12-degree ski-jump ramp. The flight deck is expected to include three runways and one landing line, enabling intensive air operations at sea.

One of the most important aspects of the project is the “Multi-Domain Aircraft Carrier” concept. Under this approach, MUGEM will not only host manned and unmanned aircraft but will also be equipped with special capabilities for deploying and recovering unmanned surface vehicles and unmanned underwater vehicles. The ship’s command-and-control infrastructure is expected to manage manned and unmanned systems in a network-centric structure, while the indigenous ADVENT Combat Management System is planned to be used as the core combat management solution.

Engineering work on the MUGEM project is also progressing extensively. Towing tank tests and computational fluid dynamics analyses have been carried out to optimize the hull form, while propeller design is being conducted by the Design Project Office. Within the project, a quiet propeller with an efficiency of 70 percent or higher is being targeted. In cooperation with Middle East Technical University, airflow analyses and flight envelope studies are also underway. The ship is being designed to conduct flight operations up to Sea State 6 without operational restrictions.

Local solutions will also play a central role in MUGEM’s sensors and defense systems. The ship is expected to be equipped with the ÇAFRAD radar family, satellite communication systems, identification friend-or-foe systems, electronic support and electronic attack systems, infrared search and tracking capability, laser electronic attack system and electro-optical director. For self-defense, the ship is planned to include two 16-cell MİDLAS vertical launch systems, three close-in air defense systems, four remotely controlled weapon systems and two point-defense missile systems.

MUGEM is also expected to be a highly versatile platform in terms of logistics and medical capabilities. The ship will include a Role 2 Enhanced medical facility consisting of two operating rooms, two dental clinics, a dental surgery room, an intensive care unit, a burn treatment unit, radiology sections, an isolation room, 30-bed wards, a laboratory and a pharmacy. Ramps on the stern and starboard side are also planned for vehicle and equipment loading. With these capabilities, MUGEM will provide the Turkish Naval Forces with significant capacity not only for naval-air operations, but also for humanitarian assistance, evacuation, logistics support and multi-domain missions.