Turkey's largest warship and three other naval ships have been sighted in the Solent off the Isle of Wight today (Tuesday, March 3) as they made their way to Southampton.
The ships were caught on isleofwight.com webcams passing between Ryde and Cowes this morning, before continuing up Southampton Water.
Leading the group was TCG Anadolu, Turkey’s largest warship, a 27,000-tonne drone carrier reportedly costing in excess of £1 billion.
The vast grey vessel, bearing the pennant number L400, is designed to operate unmanned aerial vehicles and helicopters and serves as the flagship of the Turkish Navy.
Following closely behind was the frigate TCG Istanbul (F-515), which has since docked alongside Anadolu at Southampton’s Ocean Cruise Terminal.
The remaining vessels in the group were TCG Derya (A-1590), a replenishment and auxiliary support ship, and TCG Oruçreis (F-245), a frigate.
All four ships were seen passing through the busy Solent shipping lane, drawing the attention of onlookers along the Island’s north-east coast.
The visit is believed to be linked to NATO’s Steadfast Dart exercise.
The task group was deployed to the Baltic Sea in January as part of the alliance’s ongoing operations and collective defence activities.
It is not yet known how long the ships will remain alongside in Southampton.
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