Shunned by the US, Turkey is preparing to launch its first aircraft carrier — but it will come with a twist

• Turkey is close to commissioning its largest warship, the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu.
• The ship was meant to operate with F-35B jets, but the US kicked Turkey out of the F-35 program.
• Turkey will instead operate the Anadolu with drones, using them to project power across the region.

Turkey is getting closer to commissioning its first aircraft carrier, TCG Anadolu. In January, Ankara announced that the ship had begun its acceptance trials, capping off a nearly decade-long development cycle marked by unfortunate delays.