UPDATE - Turkish president vows to carry out 'Steel Dome' defense system project

UPDATES WITH MORE REMARKS FROM PRESIDENT ERDOGAN

By Yasin Gungor

ISTANBUL (AA) - Türkiye will carry out its "Steel Dome" air defense system project, the country’s president said on Saturday.

"Hopefully, we will carry out our 'Steel Dome' project with all of its components. If they (Israel) have the Iron Dome, we will also have the Steel Dome," Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the Air War College Commencement and Flag Handover Ceremony.

“The Steel Dome will ensure that our layered air defense systems and all our sensors and weapons work in integration with each other,” Erdogan said.

Erdogan emphasized Türkiye's growing prominence in unmanned aerial vehicle technology.

"The momentum we have gained in unmanned aerial vehicles is being watched with envy not only by our friendly and brotherly nations, but all over the world," he said.

With the commissioning of Kizilelma and ANKA-3 unmanned aerial vehicles, whose tests are ongoing, Türkiye will be a player in a “new league” in this field, Erdogan added.

The Turkish president also reiterated Türkiye's commitment to bolstering its military capabilities, saying: "We are working to manufacture, develop, or procure whatever our Air Force requires, from missiles to air defense systems."

“Our Air Force assumes great responsibilities in eliminating threats to our country's security, especially in the fight against terrorism,” he said.

Speaking about the ongoing Operation Claw-Lock, launched in 2022 to target PKK terrorist hideouts in northern Iraq, Erdogan said that they will ensure that separatists are no longer a source of threat to “our nation and our Iraqi brothers, sisters.”

Erdogan said some allies, instead of supporting Türkiye, did not “hesitate to openly support the PKK’s Syrian extension and to welcome the leaders of the separatist terrorist organization with red carpets.”

"We rely solely on our own strength and capabilities," he added.

Erdogan also praised the Turkish Armed Forces for overcoming challenges, including the 2016 defeated coup orchestrated by the Fethullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

“We not only uprooted the FETO treason gang that grew like a malignant tumor for nearly 40 years, but we also strengthened our army in every field," he said.

The president said that Türkiye is in solidarity with its “friends and brothers wherever needed.”

Ankara has supported its allies in Libya, Somalia, and Azerbaijan, the president said, emphasizing that no army in the world, except the Turkish Armed Forces, could have achieved such success beyond its borders in a “very short time.”