Turkey begins steel-cutting on MUGEM and MiLDEN vessels
The Anadolu amphibious assault ship. The MUGEM aircraft carrier will be twice its size. (Photo: Mass Communication Specialist 2nd Class Jackson Adkins, Public domain, via Wikimedia Commons)
The MUGEM, TF-2000 and MiLDEN programmes all aim to boost Turkey’s domestic shipbuilding prowess and its fleet.
The Turkish Ministry of Defence has confirmed steel-cutting ceremonies for three major naval projects. On 2 January 2025, the Ministry announced work had begun on the MUGEM indigenous aircraft carrier, the TF-2000 AAW destroyer and the MILDEN indigenous submarine.
The steel-cutting ceremonies for the MUGEM and TF-2000 were conducted at the Istanbul Naval Shipyard, while the ceremony for the MILDEN submarine took place at the Gölcük Naval Shipyard.
The Turkish national aircraft carrier
The MUGEM (national aircraft carrier) project was first announced in February 2024, during a visit by President Erdoğan to the Istanbul Naval Shipyard.
The MUGEM gained attention
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