Turkish naval, air forces participate in key international exercises missions

By Dilara Hamit

The Turkish National Defense Ministry announced on Thursday details of the country's navy and air force participation in ongoing and upcoming military drills in several countries.

At a press briefing in Ankara, the ministry's Press and Public Relations Advisor, Rear Admiral Zeki Akturk, provided updates on the country's recent and upcoming international engagements.

Akturk said the Turkish Navy's Yavuz-class frigate, TCG Yildirim, is currently taking part in the five-day Dynamic Guard-II/2024 naval exercise, which is hosted in Greece as part of NATO's Standing Maritime Group-2 and will conclude on Friday.

Simultaneously, the navy is engaged in Dynamic Move-II exercises, which are being conducted in Italy from Sept. 2 to 13.

Moreover, Türkiye will take part in the Steadfast Foxtrot-24 exercise in Germany from Sept. 10 to 19, he said.

Akturk also highlighted several visits by foreign naval vessels to Turkish ports.

The Indonesian Navy's Diponegoro corvette visited Mersin from Aug. 16 to Sept. 3, while the French Navy's Languedoc frigate and the Albanian Navy's Oriku vessel made stops in Mersin and Izmir, respectively. The US Navy's amphibious ship USS Wasp is also visiting Izmir from Sept. 1 to 5.

On Sept. 4, a joint air defense exercise took place in the Eastern Mediterranean, involving Turkish ships TCG Gelibolu, TCG Bafra, and TCG Doganay, along with the French Languedoc frigate and two Turkish F-16 fighter jets.

Additionally, the TCG Alemdar, NATO's most advanced submarine rescue ship, is scheduled to participate in the Dynamic Monarch-2024 exercise in Arendal, Norway, from Sept. 8 to 20.

Ahead of the exercise, TCG Alemdar conducted a port visit to Plymouth, UK, from Sept. 2 to 4.

The Turkish Naval Academy's advanced maritime training activities continue with port visits planned for TCG Iskenderun to Izmir from Sept. 4 to 6, Northern Cyprus from Sept. 9 to 12, and Aksaz from Sept. 15 to 17.

In the air domain, four Turkish F-16s and a tanker aircraft participated in "Counter Air Operations" training exercises over Romanian airspace as part of NATO's "Flexible Deterrent Options" under "Enhanced Vigilance Activities."

Two F-16s were also deployed to Egypt for the "International Aviation Fair" from Sept. 3 to 5, and Türkiye plans to send two F-16s to Austria for the "Airpower 2024" event on Sept. 6-7.

Rear Admiral Akturk emphasized the Turkish Armed Forces' growing capabilities, noting that the Turkish Land Forces recently completed the inspection and acceptance of several OMTAS Armored Anti-Tank Vehicles outfitted with cutting-edge technology from Türkiye's domestic defense industry.