Bayraktar TB3 marks two years aboard TCG Anadolu with 355 take-offs and landings
Türkiye’s Ministry of National Defence (MSB) has released a two-year tally for the Bayraktar TB3, the armed drone designed to operate from ships. According to the ministry’s statement of November 9, 2026, the TB3 has completed 355 take-offs and landings on the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu in roughly two years and has carried out nine firings in total.
From first landing to routine
The ministry noted that the TB3 made its first take-off and landing on TCG Anadolu on November 19, 2024. The update was shared on the ministry’s official social media account alongside footage of the aircraft, under the headline “Epic on land, might at sea, independence in the sky.”
The numbers at a glance
- First take-off and landing: November 19, 2024
- Period: about two years
- Take-offs and landings on the ship: 355
- Firings: 9
For a fixed-wing drone operating from a short deck, a sustained cadence of shipboard cycles is a meaningful indicator of maturity for both the aircraft and the crew that handles it. The ministry did not say which munitions were used or when the nine firings took place.
Source: Turkish Ministry of National Defence official social media post (November 9, 2026), as reported by Demirören News Agency (DHA).
