Turkish army: numbers, weapons, photos. Armament of ground forces

On November 24, the Turkish Air Force attacked a Russian Su-24M front-line bomber. This demarche by Ankara turned out to be fatal, marking the beginning of a confrontation between Russia and Turkey. Tension between the countries is growing every day, the rhetoric of politicians is sounding more and more bellicose, and no one can guarantee that Russia and Turkey will not be drawn into an armed conflict. In this regard, “Our Version” analyzed the military potential of the Russian and Turkish armies, assessing the parties’ chances of victory.

Combat vehicles, aviation and navy

Türkiye. According to the Stockholm Peace Research Institute, Turkey's military budget is close to $20 billion. These funds are spent mainly on rearmament, the pace of which is quite high. The Turkish military receives military technologies from the most technologically advanced countries: the main suppliers are the USA and Israel. In addition, Turkey actively cooperates in the military field with leading NATO countries, and more recently with China, South Korea and Indonesia.

Behind Lately Türkiye has formed a powerful air force, with an aviation fleet of more than 400 combat aircraft. Among them are 200 F-16 fighters - they are assembled in Turkey under license. According to a number of Western experts, these are modern generation 4+ vehicles that are not inferior in their combat qualities to the Russian Su-30SM. Recently, there has been a lot of talk about the contract for the purchase of American fifth-generation fighters F-35A. According to data published by the Internet resource WikiLeaks, tactical nuclear weapons are stored on the territory of the Incirlik base - B-61 aerial bombs, which are modernized for the F-35A. However, this information has never been officially confirmed.

The Turkish military is placing a big bet on ground forces. The tank fleet includes about 4 thousand tanks, including about 300 modern German Leopard-2A4s, a little over two thousand obsolete German and American tanks, in addition, 1.5 thousand very ancient American M48A5s produced in the 50s - they were put into storage. The Turkish army also has more than 4,500 armored vehicles at its disposal. for various purposes. Artillery is about a thousand self-propelled artillery units, almost 2 thousand towed guns and more than 10 thousand mortars. Almost all the artillery is American-made, but most of it is outdated. Considerable attention is paid to rocket artillery: about 300 multiple launch rocket systems, multiple launch rocket systems (MLRS) of American, Chinese and domestic production. Türkiye recently received operational-tactical missiles. We are talking about the American ATACMS and our own J-600T operational-tactical missiles, which were copied from the Chinese B-611.

But the Turkish air defense system is not admirable; it is currently represented by outdated American anti-aircraft missile systems of various ranges. In the future, it is planned to strengthen the country’s air defense system through the supply from China of 12 divisional sets of long-range HQ-9 air defense systems, which were created using the technological base of the Russian S-300 air defense systems. The Turkish missile defense system being created with the help of China will be integrated into the NATO missile defense system.

By 2023, the Turks intend to completely abandon the import of military products. They are especially proud of their own armored vehicles, in particular the promising Altay tank. Let us also recall that after Russia deployed the S-400 air defense system to Syria, Turkey installed a new Koral electronic warfare system on the border, which, according to Ankara, is capable of completely blinding Russian systems.

RUSSIA. In terms of the amount of military equipment, the Russian Armed Forces are the first in the world, significantly surpassing the Turkish army. However, only 30% of the equipment in the troops is new. By 2020, it is planned to update 70% of the existing equipment. The Strategic Missile Forces have already updated 85% of their combat fleet.

Now in the Russian army there are about 4 thousand towed artillery and self-propelled guns, 3.5 thousand MLRS, almost 3 thousand tanks (about 20 thousand more in storage) and more than 10 thousand armored vehicles. The Russian Air Force has 80 strategic bombers (Tu-160 and Tu-95MS), 150 long-range Tu-22M3 bombers, 241 Su-25 attack aircraft, 164 Su-24M front-line bombers, 26 Su-34 front-line bombers. The fighter aviation consists of 953 aircraft (MiG-29, MiG-31, Su-27, Su-30 and Su-35S).

At the same time, Russia has an unconditional advantage in air defense systems, which is able to make the sky completely inaccessible to the aviation of any potential enemy. The previously mentioned modern Russian S-400 air defense systems have no analogues in the world at all, however, there are not enough of them at the disposal of the Russian military.

Comparing the fleets of Russia and Turkey, we can definitely say that the Russian Navy has a multiple total advantage in surface and submarine ships, but the Black Sea Fleet is weaker than the Turkish one. Therefore, nuclear weapons remain the ace in the hole for Russia, in terms of the number of units of which the Russian Federation is the world leader.

Readiness and morale

Türkiye. Almost all Turkish military personnel have combat experience, which they gained while fighting Kurdish guerrilla groups. At the same time, the control system of the Turkish army is integrated into the system of united armed forces NATO in Europe, it is part of the Southern Command structure.

RUSSIA. The Russian military gained experience in conducting combat operations during the Russian-Georgian conflict; almost all officers in senior positions have experience participating in the armed conflict in the Chechen Republic. Over the past few years, the Russian military has been engaged in combat training almost continuously.

Mobilization resources

Türkiye. The Turkish army is the second largest in NATO - only the United States has more. The Turkish army has more than half a million military personnel, and another 400 thousand are in the nearest reserve. People are called up for military service in Turkey at the age of 20, and the service can last up to 15 months (conscripts with higher education serve half as long). However, as experts testify, the majority of recruits come from villages and have almost no education. As a result, despite exemplary discipline in units, Turkish soldiers are practically unable to effectively use modern military equipment that requires knowledge. But do not delude yourself: the core of the Turkish army consists of a high-quality officer corps and trained contract soldiers. Most of professionals serve in aviation, special forces, and marines. Also for mobilization in war time a reserve of up to 900 thousand people trained in military affairs can be used.

RUSSIA. The official strength of the Russian army for 2015 is officially about a million people, but until recently, many units experienced a personnel shortage of up to 30%. At the beginning of this year, it was announced that for the first time the number of contract soldiers exceeded the number of conscripts: there are currently 300 thousand contract soldiers and 276 thousand conscripts serving in the Russian army. The country’s mobilization system is currently unbalanced, however, the active reserve remains very significant and amounts to about 2.5 million people.

Anatoly Tsyganok, head of the military forecasting center at the Institute of Political and Military Analysis:

– There is tension between Russia and Turkey, but it is unlikely to definitely lead to hostilities, no matter what is said. It is clear that the Turkish army will cause problems for anyone - even if it is not as high-tech as the army Russian Federation or the armies of Western countries, but they are well trained and numerous. The Turkish military has combat experience, and they fight especially well in mountainous areas: 30 years ago, the Turkish military carried out a large-scale operation to seize territory in Cyprus and carried it out quite successfully.

Relations between Moscow and Ankara over the past year and a half have gone from brinksmanship to an almost open military alliance. Everything changed after the failed military coup in the summer of 2016, and today military cooperation with Moscow is considered one of the priorities of Turkish policy. On the eve of the visit to Russia, the Turkish President interviewed one of the leading military experts, editor-in-chief of the Moscow Defense Brief magazine, co-editor of the book “Turkish War Machine: Strength and Weakness”, prepared for publication by Moscow (CAST).

"Lenta.ru": In the 1980s, the Turkish Armed Forces were one of the largest in Europe, and now they still remain very numerous. What is the reason for Ankara's attention to the military field? What threats does the Turkish government see for the country?

Mikhail Barabanov: Turkey itself is a large state, it is enough to recall that its population has reached 80 million people. Therefore, the number of Turkish Armed Forces relative to the population is about 443 thousand people at the beginning of 2016, now, after purges and reductions, after an attempted military coup, it is already about 400 thousand (all figures excluding civilian personnel, excluding gendarmerie and coast guard) - even less than the relative strength of the Russian Armed Forces.

The reasons for Turkey's traditional maintenance of a large army throughout the twentieth century are obvious. These are historically conflictual relations with most of the neighbors: Greece, Bulgaria, and most importantly, with Russia/USSR. Moreover, Russia was not only the most powerful adversary, but also represented a kind of “existential” threat to Turkey in connection with the traditional desire to establish control over the Black Sea straits, which for Turkey would be tantamount to the dismemberment of the country and the loss of its most developed areas.

Naturally, after 1991, when the Russian threat and the threat from the Warsaw Pact were practically removed, the reduction of the Turkish Armed Forces began. But it could not be radical, since hostile relations with Greece, the Cyprus issue, the fight against Kurdish separatism remain, and tension has also been added on the southern and south-eastern borders in connection with the conflicts in Iraq and now in Syria.

And finally, one should not discount the fact that the army in Republican Turkey was largely an autonomous force in relation to the government, and in itself was not interested in deep cuts.

What major changes occurred in the Turkish Armed Forces in the 1990s?

After 1991, the Turkish Armed Forces were reduced by approximately 200 thousand troops, and the number of formations was reduced. The army was gradually transferred to a brigade structure. Divisions, which back in the 1980s were at the level of World War II in their organization and consisted of regiments, were transferred to a brigade organization, and their number itself was significantly reduced.

Forces on the borders with former USSR(3rd Field Army), which were reoriented to fight Kurdish rebels.

But in general, it can be said that the Turkish Armed Forces have undergone less reductions and transformations since 1991 than the armed forces of other countries.

An important factor was the massive transfers to Turkey of military equipment released during the reduction of armed forces of developed NATO countries in Europe - primarily the armies of the United States and Germany. This made it possible to significantly increase the level of technical equipment of the Turkish army, which was previously very low, especially in relation to the fleet of armored vehicles, artillery, and partly aviation.

Finally, the 1990s and 2000s became a period of active development of the Turkish defense industry, intensively supported by the state and relying mainly on foreign licenses. Here it is worth highlighting the organization by the aircraft manufacturing association TAI of the assembly of Lockheed Martin F-16C/D fighters, which made it possible to rearm most of the Turkish Air Force with these aircraft, the establishment by FNSS of the licensed production of AIFV (ACV-15) infantry fighting vehicles, which made it possible to increase the mechanization of the army, production since 2000 's under foreign licenses of long-range 155-mm/52 howitzers in towed (Panter) and self-propelled (Firtina) versions, the development by Roketsan, with Chinese assistance, of the production of multiple launch rocket systems of 107, 122 and 302 mm caliber (and missiles for them) and even the J-600T Yildirim operational-tactical missile system, organizing the construction of submarines, frigates and missile boats according to German designs.

In organizational terms, major changes have taken place. First of all, it should be noted the sharp decrease in the role of the Armed Forces, whose chief had previously exercised full leadership of the Armed Forces. Now all commanders of the armed forces are reassigned directly to the president.

The President and Prime Minister of Turkey received the right to directly give orders to commanders and receive information from them, without the prior consent of the Chief of the General Staff. The role of the Ministry of National Defense in the management of the Armed Forces (as opposed to the General Staff) has been increased. The gendarmerie and coast guard were withdrawn from the Armed Forces and transferred to them.

In general, what is happening in Turkey after July 15, 2016 indicates a sharp reduction in the autonomy and role of the military elite in the political process and the actual complete transfer of control over the armed forces to the political authorities led by President Erdogan.

What is the Turkish Armed Forces like at the moment?

Overall they present a contradictory picture. The main problem of military development is that Turkey remains a rather poor country, which is forced to maintain large armed forces. Previously this forced us to support increased level military spending (back in 2002 - 3.5 percent of GDP).

Over the past 15 years, the level of military spending to GDP has been steadily declining, falling to 1.6 percent in 2016 (all data are official, but there are also unofficial estimates at a higher level). By modern standards, this is not much, and this level significantly hinders the high-quality modernization of the aircraft, making it difficult for them to achieve advanced Western standards.

Therefore, Turkey's ground forces still remain relatively backward. In terms of technical and organizational level, they roughly correspond to the developed NATO countries of the 1970s - 1980s. The bulk of the tanks are vehicles of the second (M60, Leopard 1) and even the first (M48A5) generations. There are few third generation Leopard 2A4 tanks received from Germany in an unmodernized form (less than 350). The main armored vehicles are the old American M113 armored personnel carriers and the licensed “light” AIFV infantry fighting vehicles created on their basis. The artillery is for the most part also of old American types (with the exception of Panter and Firtina howitzers).

The equipment of the Turkish infantry is very low; to date it has not even been fully provided with modern personal protective equipment (body armor and Kevlar helmets) and uses outdated small arms (licensed German G3 rifles and Kalashnikov assault rifles). The saturation of anti-tank weapons, primarily anti-tank missile systems, is low. The main grenade launcher is RPG-7 obtained from the army reserves of the former GDR with old rounds (with expiring shelf life). The basis of military air defense is small-caliber anti-aircraft guns.

The basis of recruitment remains conscription. As of November 2016, the Turkish Armed Forces had about 193 thousand conscripts and only 15.7 thousand contract soldiers. This is somewhat offset by a large professional non-commissioned officer corps numbering more than 66 thousand people. However, it is obvious that we have before us a massive conscript army with all the shortcomings of such a system in modern conditions.

The experience of the participation of the Turkish army in the intervention in Syria since August 2016 (Operation Euphrates Shield) indicates a low level of training of personnel, especially at lower levels, and insufficient technical equipment of the troops. There are, apparently, problems with personnel motivation.

At the same time, the Turkish Air Force looks very modern and combat-ready. Combat-wise, they represent a homogeneous force of 235 F-16C/D fighters, constantly being developed and equipped with new weapons. In addition, the Air Force retains about 47 F-4E-2020 fighter-bombers modernized with Israeli assistance, also with sufficient modern equipment. A very significant amount of modern guided and high-precision weapons, both American and now Turkish-made, which are used in combat operations in Syria, are being purchased and mastered. A group of four recently purchased modern 737AEW&C early warning and control aircraft has been created. And finally, already in 2018, the Turkish Air Force should receive the first fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35A fighters.

The weak side of the Turkish Armed Forces remains the insufficient number of helicopter aircraft, however, this situation should be corrected with the start of deliveries of new T129 ATAK combat helicopters (a modified licensed version of the Italian AgustaWestland A129, 19 units have already been delivered) and with the planned start of licensed production of T70 multi-purpose helicopters (Sikorsky S- 70i Black Hawk).

Active efforts are being made to develop unmanned aircraft. The Anka long-range unmanned aerial vehicle of its own design is being tested, and since 2016, Turkish Bayraktar TB2 attack drones have already begun to be used in Syria.

The weakness of ground-based air defense systems remains a serious flaw. In Turkey, obsolete Hawk, Rapier air defense systems and even such archaic museum objects as Nike Hercules continue to be used in relatively small quantities. At the same time, the purchase of modern anti-aircraft missile systems is being delayed, as is the development of its own systems.

The Turkish Navy looks quite modern and numerous, the core of which consists of submarines, frigates and large missile boats of German designs.

What are the main problems facing Turkish military construction?

The main problem remains the already mentioned lack of resources to maintain such large armed forces at a truly high level. Although the level of military spending is expected to be raised to two percent of GDP by 2020 (as required by NATO commitments), this will not change the situation. Nevertheless, the increase in military spending will accelerate the technical modernization of the Turkish Armed Forces, ensuring sufficient funding for key programs - F-35A fighters, T129 and T70 helicopters, Altay tank, drones, modern air defense systems, reconnaissance, communications and control systems, long-range missile weapons, universal landing ship, new frigates, corvettes and non-nuclear submarines. It is possible that the reduction in the number of armed forces will continue.

Politically, the main threat remains the underlying mutual tension between the Armed Forces and the Erdogan regime, which already erupted in the events of July 15, 2016. Despite large-scale purges, repressions and organizational reforms carried out by the authorities, the main causes have not been eliminated (and are unlikely to be eliminated). Therefore, one cannot be sure that new collisions will be excluded in the future.

In addition, the continuous purges of the generals and officer corps for political reasons, which have been going on in Turkey for several years (let me remind you that before July 15 there was the famous Ergenekon case) inevitably destabilize the Armed Forces and undermine the professionalism and continuity of the personnel command staff. This may negatively affect the combat readiness of the armed forces and the competence of the command.

How does Türkiye see its place in NATO and the country's future in the Alliance? Is there a discussion among the military on this issue, what positions are presented?

This is a very interesting and complex topic. On the one hand, previously the Turkish military elite, which considered itself a stronghold of Kemalist traditions and a generally secular republican system, clearly advocated orientation toward the United States and NATO, viewing this as a logical continuation of domestic pro-Western policy and as part of a course toward modernization. Officers and generals (“Atlantists”) configured in this way constituted the majority of the military leadership.

Along with this, among the generals and senior officers there were representatives of other ideological trends, among which Turkish observers distinguish “traditionalists” (people inclined to religious and conservative views and taking the position of traditional pre-Kemalist “Ottomanism”), “nationalists” or “populists” (adhering to far-right nationalist and pan-Turkist views and appealing to the original early Kemalism) and “internationalists” or “Eurasianists” (adhering to modern, even partly leftist views, but opposing a unilateral orientation towards the USA and NATO and wanting a multi-vector policy, a “shift to the East /Asia” in a broad sense, etc.)

In 2010-2014, as a result of the Ergenekon and similar cases, a large number of officers belonging to the “populists” and “internationalists” were forced to resign from the Turkish army. We can talk about the purge of the conventionally left (according to political views) wing in the Armed Forces that took place during this period. This purge was the reason for the ideological slide of the Turkish military towards right-wing ideas - primarily “Atlanticism”, but also religious conservatism. According to Turkish observers, it was precisely this process that members of the notorious Gulen organization tried to ride and lead, who took an active part in the coup attempt on July 15, 2016.

During the purges that followed the failure of the coup, the main the blow fell, on the contrary, for officers who were supporters of “Atlanticism” and “traditionalists.” As a result, “populist nationalists” and “Eurasian internationalists” have now gained a foothold in the Turkish Armed Forces again. This, along with the obvious sympathy of the NATO leadership and the leading Western countries of the bloc for the “Atlantic” wing of the Turkish officers (which actively participated in the conspiracy), led to a sharp increase in skepticism towards NATO in the Turkish military-political leadership. Public opinion after July 15 also takes an unfavorable position towards NATO.

Nevertheless, one should not overestimate the importance of these factors, much less expect Turkey to break with NATO. Participation in the Alliance as a whole is very beneficial for Turkey, as a relatively underdeveloped country. It gives the Turks access to modern Western military training, advanced command and control procedures, technology, new military equipment, and multiple forms of interaction and assistance. Turkish military and political elite understands this. In turn, the geostrategic importance of Turkey for the United States and NATO, especially in the context of the conflicts in Syria and Iraq, makes it possible for Ankara to actively set conditions and put forward conditions for its assistance to the West. Therefore, Turkey will apparently increase the price of its participation in NATO for the United States and other Alliance partners.

How can you assess the dynamics and priorities for the development of Turkey's own defense industry? What methods are used, are there traces of a well-thought-out strategy?

Over the past 25 years, the Turkish defense industry has made significant development leaps. Turkey has not only become capable of producing many modern types of weapons and equipment (mainly so far under foreign licenses), but has also implemented or begun to implement a number of ambitious promising military-industrial programs (Altay tank, TF-X fighter - also so far with foreign assistance ), and also entered the circle of active arms exporters.

This is a well-thought-out and fairly consistently implemented state strategy, based on formulated long-term plans. The basis for the development of the Turkish defense industry is the active attraction of foreign experience and assistance. This is primarily the creation, with government support, of joint ventures with foreign companies for the licensed production of foreign equipment with a significant level of localization and subsequent modernization, or the acquisition of foreign licenses with the development of the full production cycle at home.

When implementing ambitious, forward-looking national programs for creating weapons systems, a foreign partner is selected to participate in the development and transfer of technology and experience. Thus, the Altay tank was created with the participation of, and the ongoing creation of the promising Turkish light fighter TF-X is supported by partnership agreements with BAE Systems and Saab AB. At the same time, in long-term plans, a large place is given to localization and “import substitution” of products and systems in the process of mass production.

Another direction is to encourage Turkish defense enterprises to participate in international military-industrial cooperation and foreign production programs. As a result, for example, companies from such a not very highly developed country as Turkey managed to obtain a very significant place as subcontractors in the production program of the American fifth-generation fighter F-35. Suffice it to point out that in 2016 alone, the volume of new contracts concluded by the Turkish defense and aviation industry for supplies to the United States alone amounted to an impressive $587 million.

The private sector plays a large role in the development of the military-industrial complex in Turkey. Private companies are encouraged in every possible way to participate in military production, and in some cases procurement tenders are specifically held only among private owners, without the admission of state-owned manufacturers. This was the case, for example, with the program to build a universal landing ship. As a result, many Turkish private defense firms have achieved major successes, becoming prominent players not only in the Turkish but also in the international market. Thus, the Otokar company (part of the private Koç holding) became not only the largest Turkish manufacturer of armored vehicles, but also the main contractor in the creation of the Turkish national Altay tank, investing about a billion dollars in this program own funds. Or you can recall the Turkish private shipyard Yonca-Onuk, which in a relatively short time has become one of the world's leading suppliers of high-speed military boats.

What successful or, conversely, unsuccessful examples can you give of your own and joint programs designed to develop national defense production and development?

Until now, only a relatively small number of directly national weapons programs have been implemented in Turkey. Until recently, the emphasis was on licensed or joint production (F-16C/D fighters, CN-235 light military transport aircraft, AIFV infantry fighting vehicles, Panter and Firtina howitzers, warships and submarines of German projects).

Independent creation programs have only begun to be implemented in the last decade, and they face significant difficulties and delays, understandable given disabilities Turkish developers and manufacturers. Significant problems are created by the inability to receive planned foreign assistance. Thus, the project of the Turkish long-range drone Anka was seriously slowed down after Israeli companies refused to participate in it due to Erdogan’s quarrel with Israel. Or, for example, due to the refusal of the Austrian government for political reasons after the events of July 15, 2016 to issue a license to the Austrian company AVL List for technology transfer, the Turkish company Tümosan was unable to create, together with the Austrians, a diesel engine for the Altay tank, which will eventually be equipped with imported German diesel engines MTU engines.

Like any under-industrialized country, Turkey faces serious problems and delays in the transition from the creation of one-piece prototypes to their mass production. This can be seen in the example of the T129 ATAK helicopter or the same Altay tank.

The feasibility of a number of the most ambitious Turkish defense programs of recent times, such as the creation of its own promising fighter TF-X, raises doubts. At the same time, they are already declaring readiness to independently create a wide range of various complexes (anti-aircraft missile systems, cruise and ballistic missiles, satellites, passenger aircraft). In a number of cases, Turkish defense workers (and, to a greater extent, the political leadership) experience “dizziness with success.” Moreover, as was said, so far Turkey’s achievements in creating and bringing to serial delivery of its own complex weapons systems look rather pale. Therefore, the coming years will show how justified Turkish ambitions in this area look.

Currently, the Turkish army is the best army in the Middle East. As of 2015, the strength of the Turkish armed forces (excluding reservists) is 410,500 people. Moreover, in wartime, a military-trained reserve of up to 90 thousand people can be easily used, of which 38 thousand people are the first-line reserve.

In terms of military spending in 2014, Turkey was in 15th place in the world - $22.6 billion (data from the Stockholm Peace Research Institute). At the same time, in terms of the number of personnel in Europe, there is no army that would be stronger than the Turkish one (with the exception of Russia). For example, today there are about 170 thousand people serving in the German armed forces, about 180 thousand people are serving in the British army, and they are continuously decreasing.

The Turkish armed forces consist of the ground forces, air force, navy, gendarmerie (in peacetime subordinate to the minister of the interior) and coast guard. Organizationally, they are part of two ministries - the Ministry of Defense and the Ministry of Internal Affairs of Turkey.

The Turkish army is recruited according to the conscription principle.. The recruitment system and service in the Turkish army are prescribed in the law on general conscription. According to this document, military service is compulsory for all males aged 20 to 41 who have no medical contraindications. The period of service in all branches of the armed forces today is 12 months, while Turkish citizens have the opportunity to obtain an exemption from conscription by paying a certain amount of money to the country's budget. In 2013, it was about 30 thousand liras (17 thousand dollars) - a considerable amount for any average Turkish conscript.

Upon completion of military service, privates and sergeants are transferred to the reserve. For a year they are in the first-line reserve, which is called “special conscription,” after which they are transferred to the 2nd-line reserve (up to 41 years old) and 3rd-line reserve (up to 60 years old). At the same time, the “special conscription” contingent and reservists of the next stages in the event of a mobilization announcement are sent to replenish existing or emerging units and formations.

Turkish Ground Forces

Ground forces form the backbone of the country's armed forces (approximately 80% of their total strength). They are directly supervised by the commander of the ground forces through his headquarters. Subordinate to him are the headquarters of the ground forces, four field armies (FA), nine army corps (AK), including 7 as part of field armies, and three commands (training, doctrine, army aviation and logistics).

According to the “Armed Forces - 2014” program adopted back in 2007, by the end of 2014 the number of ground forces was planned to be reduced to 280-300 thousand people simultaneously with the build-up of modern weapons and military equipment, as well as control equipment.

The plan provided for the liquidation of two field armies: the 3rd Field Army (a group on the borders of Armenia and Georgia) and the 4th Aegean (on the western coast of Turkey). At the same time, it was planned to create a unified command of the three types of armed forces (ground forces, air force and navy) and transform the General Staff into the corresponding “joint” headquarters, to which the commands of the armed forces would be subordinate. On the basis of the existing headquarters of the 1st Field and 2nd Field Army, the commands of the Western and Eastern Groups of Forces should be created, and the entire existing territory of Turkey is operationally and military-administratively divided into two parts.

Leopard 2A4 tanks on the streets of Ankara

As part of the implementation of this plan, the strength of the Turkish army was reduced by 10-20 thousand troops per year, many military units and formations were disbanded. For example, in the last three years alone, 5 tank brigades out of 14 were disbanded, while at the same time the remaining 9 tank brigades were equipped with modernized and modern military equipment.

Also, part of the infantry brigades was disbanded, and some of them were transferred to the staff of mechanized formations. At the same time, the task of fighting the military formations of Kurdish separatists is transferred in full to the Turkish gendarmerie, for which the latter is reinforced with armored vehicles transferred from the ground forces. Most likely, in addition to the BTR-60P (about 340 pieces) and BTR-80 (240 pieces) armored personnel carriers already at the gendarmerie's disposal.

The main striking force of the Turkish ground forces are tanks. All tanks in service with the Turkish army are foreign-made. There are about 3 thousand tanks in service, but more than 1,200 of them are completely outdated American M48s, these vehicles are mainly put into storage or used in training centers. The most modern tank at the disposal of the Turkish ground forces is the German Leopard 2A4; there are 339 of them. It is planned to modernize these tanks to the A6 level by the Turkish company ASELSAN. In addition, there are 392 German Leopard 1 tanks of various modifications and just over 1,200 even older American M60 tanks of various modifications.

Organizationally, tank brigades include 3 tank battalions, and mechanized brigades include 1 tank battalion. Each tank battalion consists of 41 tanks. The headquarters and control of the brigade consists of 2 tanks, the remaining 39 combat vehicles are distributed among 3 tank companies. Each tank company consists of 13 tanks (1 tank of the company commander and 4 platoons of 3 tanks each). Judging by news agency footage, American M60 tanks (developed in the late 1950s) of various modifications are still actively used by the Turkish army.

M60 tanks of the Turkish army

The fleet of armored vehicles of the Turkish army is quite diverse and is represented by tracked and wheeled armored personnel carriers and tracked infantry fighting vehicles, as well as various machines on their base. Their total number exceeds 4,500 units. Most of them are Turkish-made equipment, with the exception of the obsolete American M113 and M59.

Anti-tank weapons are represented by portable and transportable ATGMs, RPGs, self-propelled anti-tank systems (48 FNSS ACV-300 TOW ATGMs and 156 M113 TOW ATGMs). The number of transportable and portable ATGM launchers in the Turkish army exceeds 2400 units (Otokar Cobra, Eryx, TOW, Milan, Kornet, Konkurs). In addition, the Turkish troops are armed with more than 5 thousand RPG-7 grenade launchers and more than 40 thousand M72A2.

The ground forces are armed with more than 1,200 self-propelled guns and 1,900 towed guns, and almost 10 thousand mortars. At the same time, the vast majority of artillery systems are American-made, many are seriously outdated (M110, M107, M44T, etc.). The most modern artillery systems are the 155-mm self-propelled guns T-155 Fırtına, which is a licensed copy of the South Korean self-propelled gun K9 Thunder (240 in service, order for 350 self-propelled guns), and 155-mm towed howitzers T-155 Pantera (about 225 units).

155 mm self-propelled gun T-155 Fırtına

The Turkish military pays significant attention to multiple launch rocket systems. The Turkish army is armed with 12 American MLRS MLRS (227 mm), 80 T-300 Kasigra MLRS (modern Chinese WS-1 MLRS 302 mm caliber), 130 T-122 Sakarya (Soviet BM-21 Grad Turkish automobile chassis), more than 100 T-107 MLRS (old Chinese Toure 63, 107 mm caliber) and 24 own towed RA7040 MLRS 70 mm caliber.

Army air defense is represented by anti-aircraft artillery, MANPADS and self-propelled guns with MANPADS. There are more than 2.8 thousand small-caliber anti-aircraft artillery guns. There are more than 1.9 thousand man-portable anti-aircraft missile systems (Stinger, Igla, Red Eye). In addition, there are 150 Altygan air defense systems (8 Stingers on the M113) and 88 Zipkin (4 Stingers based on the Land Rover).

The basis of the striking power of army aviation is the American AN-1 Cobra combat helicopters (39 vehicles), as well as 6 of the latest Turkish T-129 (created on the basis of the Italian A-129 helicopter, it is planned to build 60 machines). In addition, the military has up to 400 transport and multi-purpose helicopters (S-70 Black Hawk, UH-1, AS.532, AB-204/206) and up to 100 light aircraft. The gendarmerie uses 18 Russian-made Mi-17 helicopters.

T-129 attack helicopter

An interesting detail is that in last years Turkey has become the second (after Bulgaria) NATO country in Europe to be armed with operational-tactical missiles. We are talking about 72 American ATACMS (the launcher for them is the MLRS MLRS) and at least 100 of our own J-600T operational-tactical missiles, which were copied from the Chinese B-611.

Turkish Air Force

The Turkish Air Force includes 4 commands. All combat vehicles are distributed between two tactical air commands. The training aircraft are part of the Air Training Command. Transport aircraft as part of the Air Force Headquarters Command. The country's air force has 34 airfields with artificial runways.. Up to 60 thousand people serve in the Air Force.

The basis of the combat power of the Turkish Air Force is 168 F-16C multi-role fighters and 40 F-16D training fighters. Most of them were produced under license in Turkey itself. In addition, up to 40 obsolete Canadian-made Canadair NF-5 fighters remain in service. The Air Force also operates more than 180 training aircraft, 7 KC-135R refueling aircraft, two Boeing 737 AWACS aircraft (4 total ordered) and up to 95 transport aircraft. The main transport aircraft of the Turkish Air Force is Tusas CN-235M (48 units). This is a Spanish transport aircraft CASA CN-235, which was produced in Turkey under license.

Turkish Air Force F-16

Ground-based air defense is represented by the outdated American MIM-14 Nike-Hercules medium-range air defense system (72 launchers), up to 48 launchers of the American Hawk-21 medium-range air defense systems, as well as 84 British short-range Rapier air defense systems. In the future, the country's air defense system will be significantly strengthened due to a contract signed with China for the supply of 12 divisional sets of long-range HQ-9 air defense systems, which in turn were created using the technological base of the Soviet/Russian S-300 air defense systems.

On February 21, 2015, Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz noted that the Turkish missile defense system being created with the help of China will not be integrated into the NATO missile defense system.

The Turkish Air Force plans to seriously upgrade its fleet of combat aircraft. In particular, there is a lot of talk about the contract for the purchase of American 5th generation F-35A fighters. We are talking about purchasing 100 such fighters. The first two aircraft should enter service with the Turkish Air Force in 2018. In the future, they will completely replace the Canadair NF-5 and F-16 fighters, which, despite all the modernizations carried out, are already considered obsolete machines.

The seriousness of the Turkish side’s intentions is confirmed by the fact that at the end of 2016, the Turkish company Roketsan plans to begin testing the new SOM-J cruise missile, which is designed for suspension on F-35 Lightning II fighters.

Tusas CN-235M of the Turkish Air Force

There are no foreign troops on Turkish soil, but the US Air Force regularly uses Incirlik and Diyarbakir air bases for its operations. According to data published by the Internet resource WikiLeaks, tactical nuclear weapons - B-61 aerial bombs - are stored on the territory of the Incirlik base. This information has never been officially confirmed.

Turkish Navy

The Turkish Navy is organizationally composed of four commands - the Northern and Southern Naval Zones, the Navy and the Training Command. Headed by this type armed forces - an army admiral who reports directly to the Chief of the General Staff of the Armed Forces. The commander of the Navy is operatively subordinate to the coast guard command, which in peacetime is under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior (up to 80 patrol boats). The Navy numbers up to 50 thousand people.

Currently, the Turkish fleet is the most powerful fleet in the Black Sea. In 2013, Admiral Vladimir Komoyedov, in an interview with the Free Press, emphasized that the Turkish fleet is 4.7 times larger than even the combined fleet of Russia and Ukraine. Since then the situation has changed significantly. Even the hypothetical unification of the Russian and Ukrainian fleets can be forgotten after all the events of recent years. But the Russian Black Sea Fleet has finally begun to be qualitatively updated with modern warships, and yet it will not be possible to significantly reduce the existing gap in the near future.

Corvette F 511 "Heybeliada" type "MILGEM" Turkish Navy

The core of the Turkish Navy's ship composition is predominantly warships of foreign projects. home impact force fleet - 16 frigates and 8 corvettes. Among the frigates, there are 8 units of the Gaziantep type (frigates of the Oliver Hazard Perry type transferred by the Americans, all of which were modernized), 4 frigates of the Yavuz type (German frigates of the MEKO 200 type) and 4 frigates of the Barbaros (MEKO2000TN-II type) .

The six corvettes at the disposal of the Turkish Navy are former French corvettes of the D’Estienne D’Or type and 2 corvettes of the MILGEM type of Turkey’s own design (a total of 8 units are planned to be built).

The submarine forces of the Turkish Navy are represented by 14 German-made diesel submarines: including 8 modern Project 209/1400 Preveze and six relatively new Project 209/1200 Atylai. These submarines are the most successful submarines exported; they are in service with the navies of 13 countries. As part of the Turkish Navy, 6 boats of project 209/1200 “Atylai”, which entered the fleet from 1976 to 1989, are planned to be replaced with modern German submarines of type 214 with an air-independent propulsion system (AIP), the contract for their construction was signed in 2011 .

Also, the Turkish Navy has one marine brigade and marine special forces - the 5th SAS detachment (anti-sabotage combat swimmers) and the 9th SAT detachment (saboteur combat swimmers). Naval aviation includes 10 basic Spanish CN-235M patrol aircraft, 24 S-70B anti-submarine helicopters, 29 multi-purpose and transport helicopters and 9 transport aircraft.

Turkish Navy Type 209 Submarine

In general, today the Turkish armed forces have quite high level combat effectiveness, significant numbers, professional and well-trained officer corps, satisfactory technical equipment (in terms of quality). In terms of quantity, the army's supply of various weapons and heavy equipment is high.

The Turkish Army is able to solve the problems of ensuring the country's defense from a large-scale external attack and at the same time carry out a local anti-terrorist operation within its territory. Also, the Turkish armed forces are able to take part in coalition operations involving all available types of armed forces.

The implementation of international and national programs for the modernization and production of weapons and military equipment will help to significantly increase the strike capabilities of the Turkish armed forces, which will make it possible to cope with existing and future threats and challenges to the Turkish state.

Experts call the strengths of the Turkish army:

High level of authority and support for the Armed Forces in broad sections of Turkish society;
- exceptional status and position of officers in the military environment and society;
- a stable vertical of military command, the presence of corporate and clan (in units, branches of the military) solidarity;
- strict level of discipline in all units and units;
- saturation of the Armed Forces with military equipment and heavy weapons systems;
- availability of modern management tools at the operational and tactical levels;
- integration into NATO combat command and control systems;
- systematic operational and combat training of troops;
- own industrial base suitable for the production, modernization, repair of many types of military equipment and weapons, control and communications equipment, ammunition.

Turkish Armed Forces

Turkey is currently the only NATO member actually preparing for war with several neighboring countries at once, and Turkey's main potential adversary is another NATO member, Greece. Turkey maintains the conscription principle of recruiting its armed forces, which rank second in NATO after the United States in terms of the number of personnel and the number of weapons and equipment. At the same time, the personnel have experience in combat operations (against the Kurds), and their resistance to their own losses is much higher than that of any other NATO army.

The country has a powerful military-industrial complex, capable of producing military equipment of almost all classes. At the same time, in the military-technical sphere, Ankara cooperates both with major Western countries (primarily the USA and Germany), as well as with China, Russia, the Republic of Korea, and Indonesia. The weakest point of the Turkish Armed Forces is the very high proportion of outdated equipment. In addition, recently the high command of the Armed Forces has been subjected to massive repression by the country's political leadership. This was manifested in the not very successful military operations against the Kurds in northern Syria in 2016-18.

Ground troops have four field armies (FA) and one command, as well as the 15th training infantry division.

1st PA (headquarters in Istanbul) is responsible for the defense of the European part of the country and the Black Sea straits zone. It consists of three army corps (AK) - 2nd, 3rd and 5th.

2nd AK(Gelibolu) includes the 4th, 8th, 18th motorized infantry brigades, 95th armored brigade, 5th commando brigade (MTR), 102nd artillery regiment.

3rd AK(Istanbul) is considered part of the NATO RRF. It includes the 52nd Armored Division, 23rd Motorized Infantry Division (6th, 23rd, 47th Motorized Infantry Regiments), 2nd Armored and 66th Motorized Infantry Brigades.

5th AK(Chorlu) includes the 1st and 3rd armored brigades, 54th, 55th, 65th motorized infantry brigades, 105th artillery regiment, engineer regiment.

2nd PA (Malatya) is responsible for the defense of the southeast of the country, the borders with Syria and Iraq. It is she who is fighting the Kurds. It consists of three AKs - 4th, 6th, 7th.

4th AK(Ankara) includes the 28th motorized infantry, 1st and 2nd commandos (MTR), 58th artillery brigade, presidential guard regiment.

6th AK(Adana) includes the 5th armored, 39th motorized infantry brigade, 106th artillery regiment.

7th AK(Diyarbakir) includes the 3rd Infantry Division, 16th and 70th Mechanized Brigades, 2nd, 6th Motorized Infantry Brigades, 20th and 172nd Armored Brigades, 34th Border Brigade, Mountain Special Forces Brigade, 3rd Commando Brigade, 107th Artillery Regiment.

3rd PA (Erzincan) is responsible for the defense of the northeast of the country, the borders with Georgia and Armenia. It consists of two AKs - 8th and 9th.

8th AK(Elazig) includes the 1st, 12th, 51st motorized infantry brigades, 4th, 10th, 49th commando brigades, 17th motorized infantry regiment, 108th artillery regiment.

9th AK(Erzurum) includes the 4th armored brigade, 9th, 14th, 25th, 48th motorized infantry brigades, 109th artillery regiment.

4th Aegean PA (Izmir) is responsible for the defense of the southwest of the country, i.e. the coast of the Aegean Sea, as well as the northern part of Cyprus (recognized only by Turkey itself as the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus). It includes a transport division, 11th commando, 19th infantry, 1st and 3rd infantry training, 57th artillery training brigade, 2nd infantry regiment. The 11th AK is stationed in Cyprus. It includes the 28th and 39th Infantry Divisions, 14th Armored Brigade, Artillery, 41st and 49th Special Forces Regiments.

Army Aviation Command includes the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 4th army aviation regiments.

In recent years, Turkey has become the second (after Bulgaria) NATO country to have tactical missiles in its arsenal. These are 72 American ATACMS (the launchers for them are MLRS MLRS) and at least 100 of their own J-600T, copied from the Chinese B-611.

The Middle East today is a veritable boiling cauldron that could explode at any minute. The long-term civil war in Syria not only does not subside, but continues to gain momentum, threatening to escalate into a full-scale regional, or even global, conflict. It seems that the main players behind this conflict have no intention of backing down and continue to walk a fine line between the so-called hybrid war and the chaos of a full-scale conflict.

One of the key players in the Middle East region is Türkiye. This country has taken an active part in it from the very beginning of the Syrian conflict. Currently, voices are increasingly heard from Ankara about the possibility of a full-scale invasion of the Turkish army into Syrian territory. Such a step could have unpredictable consequences and theoretically result in a war between Russia and Turkey. Never before in recent history have relations between the two countries been so tense.

Many Russians perceive Turkey as a resort country, but this is only partly true. Over the past few decades, the Turkish economy has grown continuously, and the government has spared no expense on military spending. Today, the Turkish Armed Forces (AF) are in second place among NATO member countries in terms of their power, second only to the United States.

Just as in Russia they talk about building a “Russian world,” many Turkish politicians want to create a “Turkic world”, the center of which would be Ankara. And not only do they want to. In recent decades, Turkey has been actively increasing its influence in Central Asia, the Caucasus, Transcaucasia, Tatarstan and Crimea.

Turkey is undoubtedly one of the leaders in the Black Sea region and the country's leadership is doing everything possible to strengthen this leadership.

General description of the army

The state and directions of development of the Turkish armed forces are determined by the foreign policy situation that has developed today in the Middle East region. It would be hard to call it simple. The situation currently observed in the Middle East poses many serious challenges and security threats to the Turkish state.

First of all, this is a large-scale bloody conflict that is blazing in Syria, a high probability of the creation of an independent Kurdish state in the territories of Syria and Iraq, active terrorist activities of the PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party), a frozen conflict with Greece around Cyprus and islands in the Aegean Sea.

In such a situation, any country would invest heavily in its own security system, the basis of which is the armed forces.

A few words should be said about political role, which is carried out by the Turkish army. The foundation of the modern armed forces of Turkey (as well as many other things) was laid in the 20s of the last century by Kemal Ataturk, a prominent politician, statesman and reformer, who, in fact, is the founder of the modern Turkish state. Army elites have always had serious influence in political life countries, they are perceived by many as a counterweight to Islamist forces, a guarantee of Turkey’s secular development.

Turkey's population is almost 81 million people, the country's GDP is $1,508 billion, and $22.4 billion has been allocated for military needs. Over the past few years, Turkey's military spending has amounted to 2-2.3% of GDP per year. However, as foreign military experts say, Turkish defense spending is only partially transparent.

Since Türkiye has very large armed forces, only a small part public funds goes to the production (purchase) or modernization of weapons and military equipment. The lion's share of the army budget (more than 55%) goes to military salaries, various social guarantees and pensions. Another 22% is spent on current expenses (food, ammunition, fuel), and only the remaining part is spent on updating the material base.

Turkish military-industrial complex: main capabilities

The policy of the Turkish authorities in recent years has been to provide maximum support to the national defense industry. Preference is given to creating your own prototypes or licensed production of foreign technology. Turkey is striving to create its own models of tanks, armored personnel carriers, combat aircraft, military electronics and missile systems.

Currently, the Turkish aviation industry is able to provide maintenance, repair and modernization of all types of aircraft that are used by the country's military departments. The assembly production of American F-16 aircraft and their modernization have been established in Turkey. Several Turkish companies are engaged in the development and production of unmanned aerial vehicles of various modifications.

The Turkish aviation industry is developing by attracting foreign technologies (mainly NATO partners) and creating joint projects.

Turkey's armored industry is developing mainly due to attracting foreign investment. The country has launched the production of several types of modern wheeled and tracked armored vehicles (Akrep, Cobra, Kaya, Abra), a large number of types of automotive equipment are produced for the needs of the army, full swing Work is underway to create the Altai main tank.

The country's shipbuilding industry allows for the construction and repair of ships with a displacement of up to 50 thousand tons per year. In this case, up to 50% of materials and components of our own production are used. The Turks still purchase the most complex components and mechanisms (ship turbines, electronics, navigation equipment) from the USA, Germany, and France, but they strive to make maximum use of their own capacities. In the shipbuilding industry, the closest cooperation is with Germany.

Türkiye is almost completely self-sufficient in small arms and artillery weapons and ammunition. Turkish factories produce a wide range of small arms, including: pistols, submachine guns (MP5/A2, A3, A4, A5 and MP5-K), automatic rifles (NK33E/A2 and A3, G3A3 and G3A4), sniper rifles , underbarrel and anti-tank grenade launchers. The production of mortars, automatic cannons for armored vehicles, and multiple launch rocket systems has been established.

Turkish industry is successfully mastering rocket technology. We have our own production of various types of missiles, including guided anti-tank missiles, missile and artillery systems, and air-to-surface aircraft missiles. The country has established production of rocket engines, fuel, on our own repair and modernization of missile systems is carried out. Currently, Turkish companies are working on creating a long-range cruise missile and several new types of anti-tank missiles.

The Turkish radio-electronic industry has mastered the production of the latest communication systems, electronic warfare, radar stations, and fire control systems. Laser rangefinders, mine detectors, and navigation equipment are produced.

Number and structure of the armed forces of the Turkish Armed Forces

The Turkish army has a strength of 500 thousand people; in the event of a military conflict, it can be increased to 900 thousand.

Turkish troops are recruited on a conscription basis, the conscription age is 20-21 years. The period of compulsory military service ranges from six months to 15 months. After demobilization, a citizen is considered liable for military service and is registered with the military until the age of 45. If wartime is declared, men from 16 to 60 years old and women from 20 to 46 years old can be drafted into the army. Interestingly, a citizen can be exempted from compulsory military service by paying 16-17 thousand Turkish liras (about 8 thousand dollars) to the budget. .

After completing military service, privates and sergeants remain in a special reserve (1st stage reserve) for another year, then they are transferred to the second stage reserve, in which they remain until they are 41 years old. Conscripts aged 41 to 60 years constitute the third-line reserve.

The Turkish armed forces are part of two ministries - defense and interior. They consist of the ground forces, navy, air force, gendarmerie and coastal defense. During the war period, the gendarmerie becomes subordinate to the Ministry of Defense, and the coastal defense units are part of the Turkish Navy.

The highest governing body that exercises operational command is the country's General Staff, the head of this department is appointed by the president on the recommendation of the Cabinet of Ministers. The commanders of the ground forces, navy and air force of Turkey report to the Chief of the General Staff. The Chief of the General Staff is the fourth person in the country, after the President, Speaker of Parliament and Prime Minister.

The Cabinet of Ministers develops and is responsible for the country's national security policy. According to the Turkish Constitution, the parliament has the power to declare war, impose martial law or send Turkish military personnel outside the country.

Turkish Ground Forces

The basis of the Turkish army is the ground forces (ground forces). Their number is approximately 390 thousand people - this is about 80% of the total strength of the Turkish army.

The main task facing the Turkish ground forces today is the ability to conduct combat operations in several directions at once, participate in maintaining public order within the state, and take part in peacekeeping missions under the auspices of the UN and NATO campaigns.

Structurally, the ground forces are consolidated into four armies and a separate group of troops located in the northern part of Cyprus. The Turkish ground forces also include nine corps, three mechanized and two infantry divisions, 39 separate brigades, two special forces regiments and five border regiments, and a number of training units. The main tactical unit of the Turkish army is the brigade.

In addition, the Turkish ground forces include three helicopter regiments, one separate helicopter group and an attack helicopter regiment.

Young people called up for military service and selected to fill the positions of sergeants and non-commissioned officers are sent to special training centers. In the Turkish army, junior officers consist partly of contract soldiers, and partly of conscripts.

The Kara Kharp Okulu Higher Military School trains officers of various specialties, its graduates receive the military rank of lieutenant. There is also a military academy of the ground forces, which trains senior officers.

In recent years, significant resources have been directed towards modernizing the Turkish army, most of which went into the development of the ground forces. Thanks to this, today the Turkish Army has more than 3,500 tanks, 6,000 artillery pieces, mortars and MLRS, almost 4,000 various anti-tank weapons (2,400 anti-tank vehicles and 1,400 anti-tank missiles). The number of armored combat vehicles reaches 5,000 units, airplanes and helicopters of army aviation - 400 units.

If we talk about the armored forces of the Turkish army, it should be noted: most of the tanks are obsolete. More than a third of Turkey's entire tank fleet consists of M48 vehicles, an American medium tank developed back in the mid-50s. Various modifications of another American tank, the M60, which was put into service in the mid-60s, are not too different from it. More modern is the German tank “Leopard-1” (400 units), the only modern vehicle can be called “Leopard-2” (more than 300 units).

Army aviation is armed with AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters, as well as a range of utility helicopters.

The plans of the Turkish military leadership include updating the tank fleet (replacing outdated Leopard-2 tanks), adopting its own Altai tank, replacing outdated infantry fighting vehicles and armored personnel carriers with new models, equipping the army with new types of artillery and MLRS. The T-129 ATAK attack and reconnaissance helicopter should also be put into service.

The Turkish Air Force was created back in 1911 and today is one of the strongest in the Middle East.

The Turkish Air Force was used during the Cyprus conflict and NATO's Balkan campaigns. Türkiye periodically uses its aircraft in the fight against Kurdish separatists. The backbone of the Turkish air force is combat aviation, which includes 21 squadrons. Among them:

• eight fighter-bombers;
• seven air defense fighters;
• two reconnaissance;
• four combat training.

The Turkish Air Force also has auxiliary aviation, which includes 11 squadrons, of which:

• five transport;
• five educational;
• one transport and refueling aircraft.

The Turkish Air Force is armed with a large number of modern fourth-generation fighters F-16C and F-16D (more than 200 units) and more than two hundred units of obsolete F-4 and F-5 aircraft, which they plan to replace with American fifth-generation F-35 aircraft. Turkish companies are involved in the development and production of this fighter.

F-4E aircraft have been modified in Israel, which will extend their service life until 2020.

The Turkish Air Force also has a small number of obsolete Canadair NF-5A and NF-5B light fighters.

Currently, work is underway to modernize the C-130 Hercules transport aircraft; navigation equipment will be replaced.

The Turkish Air Force includes about 200 training aircraft, only a small part of which are combat training.

The country's air force also includes American-made multi-purpose helicopters Bell Helicopter Textron UH-1H and Eurocopter AS.532UL transport helicopters manufactured in Europe.

Turkey's air defense system is quite numerous, but most of the types of weapons it has are outdated. Its reorganization is currently underway.

As part of the reform, which was developed in the Turkish General Staff, they plan to combine the air defense systems of the Air Force, air defense of the Ground Forces and the Turkish Navy. One of the main components new system will become early warning aircraft (Awax), four of which were transferred to Turkey in 2010.

It is also planned to adopt new generation reconnaissance unmanned aerial vehicles.

Much attention is paid to improving the level of combat training of air defense units; they regularly participate in national and international exercises.

The Turkish Navy is rightfully considered the strongest in the Black Sea. The modern Turkish Navy includes warships, submarines, naval aviation and marine units.

The Turkish Navy includes four commands: naval, southern and northern zones and training. They all report to the Commander-in-Chief, whose chief is the Chief of the General Staff.

Turkey does not have large warships, but despite this, the Turkish fleet is a powerful and balanced force.

Türkiye has an impressive submarine fleet, which includes fourteen diesel submarines. Most of them were built in the 90s of the last century or at the beginning of this century in Germany. They have wonderful specifications, have a low noise level. In addition to torpedo weapons, Gur-class submarines can also carry anti-ship missiles.

The Turkish Navy includes 19 frigates of various types and 7 corvettes. The seven frigates were built in Germany and are of the MEKO 200 class, the newest of which was launched in 2000. Several more frigates were transferred by the Americans, some of which are ships built back in the 60s of the last century.

France transferred several corvettes to the Turkish fleet; two more ships (MILGEM type) were produced in Turkey itself and entered the fleet in 2011 and 2013.

The Turkish Navy also includes a flotilla of missile boats designed to combat enemy ships on the near approaches to the coast, and a large mine flotilla of about 30 ships. The main function of these ships is to sweep minefields in the Black Sea straits.

There is a division of auxiliary ships, numbering more than seventy pennants, its task is to supply warships on the voyage.

The Turkish Navy also operates patrol and anti-submarine aircraft and helicopters, including Turkish-made Tusas CN-235M aircraft, various modifications of the Italian Agusta helicopter and American Sikorsky S-70B2 anti-submarine helicopters.

The Turkish fleet has a well-prepared and extensive network of naval bases in the Black, Aegean and Mediterranean seas.

The Turkish fleet also includes nine divisions and a separate battery of coastal artillery and three batteries of anti-ship missiles armed with the Penguin and Harpoon complexes.

Despite the lack of large ships, the Turkish fleet is a very formidable force. In 2011, it consisted of 133 pennants and its firepower exceeded the Russian Black Sea Fleet by 1.5 times.

Conclusion

The Turkish army is rightly considered one of the strongest in the region. The Turkish armed forces are distinguished by their significant numbers, good level of training and high morale. The Turkish Armed Forces have a large number of the most modern weapons, although many types of military equipment need to be replaced or modernized.

If the Turkish army invades Syria, the situation will develop in a completely unpredictable way. There is a very high probability of the outbreak of a regional conflict and its further expansion to the global level.

Video about the Turkish army

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