Türkiye's national aircraft carrier will be able to travel from Istanbul to New York without refueling: Engineer

ISTANBUL

Türkiye's national aircraft carrier will be able to sail 10,000 nautical miles, or from Istanbul to New York, and return without refueling, an engineer said Thursday.

Speaking at Türkiye's premier technology event, TEKNOFEST's maritime edition, Lieut. Commander Aykut Demirezen said an engine was selected for the vessel based on a 10,000 nautical mile cruising range.

The four-day event, known as Blue Homeland, is being held at the Istanbul Shipyard Command. Anadolu is serving as the global communication partner. While the festival began Thursday, the public will be able to attend on Aug. 29-31.

Türkiye previously built a drone-carrying amphibious assault ship, the TCG Anadolu, and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has confirmed plans for a new, larger aircraft carrier.

Speaking at a forum as part of the event, Demirezen noted that aircraft carrier studies were begun by determining the configuration of the auxiliary propulsion system, which is a very important element.

He said they designed the chemical, biological and nuclear (CBRN) systems, adding they ensured that the personnel could perform their duties in a healthy manner by maintaining a certain atmospheric pressure on the ship against toxic or suffocating gases that could form in the atmosphere against such attacks.

Engineer Lieut. Commander Burhan Savran noted that they designed the electrical system of the national aircraft carrier, explaining that in the design, they created an electrical infrastructure capable of powering all systems and devices on the aircraft carrier, such as lighting, heating, ventilation, air conditioning, communication and weapon systems.

"We calculated the required generator capacity and number by performing load and power analysis to ensure that all these loads can be supplied redundantly,” Savran said.

"As a result of the calculations and analyses performed in this direction, the installed power of our national aircraft carrier is 40 megawatts. This value is also approximately 3,000 times the electrical power we need in our homes."

He added that in other words, the vessel has the capacity to power 3,000 homes simultaneously based on its installed power.