According to this information the MUGEM will be protected by 2/3 Destroyers, 3/2 frigates and couple of MILDEN subs. Also in terms of self protection it will have a 32 cell VLS, 4 x Gokdeniz CWIS and 7 x RCWS guns. (Hopefully - although not mentioned but shown - a couple of GOKSUR point defence systems as well)
In terms of aircraft it seems like there will be Hurjets, KE and Anka-3 drones. But this carrier will need Seahawk Class helicopters for assault and ASW for protection too. Plus heavy lift multi purpose helicopters that are sea worthy.
Hurjet with twin seats and KEs and Anka-3s will be good to work together. As Hurjets will not be stealthy, what they lack in this area can be compensated to a degree by the two stealthy drones.
But a lot of systems and equipment mentioned here is either not ready or non existent yet. Some of them can be summarised as :
1. MUGEM really needs a commensurate aircraft that will do it justice. Currently there is nothing.
2. All aircraft engines and aircrafts themselves will have to be navalised.
3. MUGEM needs a tried and tested Arrester Wire system for the aircrafts it will operate. This means that the system will have to be suitable for a 5-6 ton drone and a 10-12 ton fighter jet. (Whereas EMALS can vary weights it can handle, hydraulic systems are usually not very forgiving with wide weight tolerances)
4. Many of the self protection systems and naval ships are not ready yet. Some of them are still on paper. By the time MUGEM is ready, there will be more supersonic and hypersonic AShMs and ballistic AShMs around. Self protection will have to cover these too.
5. If Hurjet is to be used as manned aircraft, then it needs a bigger wing area with a more powerful engine like f414 or EJ200 to give it better lift and higher load capability (F35C has 45% more wing area than F35A - 62.1m2 vs 42.7m2). But these engines will have to be navalised too. (Preferably an indigenous engine will be the right way to go. But that also needs money and time)
TCG Anadolu is almost a third of this ship. It’s first steel cutting was in April 2016. It joined the Navy in April 2023 with many equipment still missing. This was in-spite of the technical help we received from Navantia. MUGEM is a different and more complex ship. Being operational can take as long as 2040 or more.
