March 2010 April 2010 May 2010 June 2010 July 2010
August 2010
September 2010 October 2010
November 2010
December 2010
January 2011
February 2011 March 2011 April 2011 May 2011 June 2011 July 2011 August 2011 September 2011 October 2011 November 2011 December 2011 January 2012 February 2012 March 2012 April 2012 May 2012 June 2012 July 2012 August 2012 September 2012 October 2012 November 2012 December 2012 January 2013 February 2013 March 2013 April 2013 May 2013 June 2013 July 2013 August 2013 September 2013 October 2013 November 2013 December 2013 January 2014 February 2014 March 2014 April 2014 May 2014 June 2014 July 2014 August 2014 September 2014 October 2014 November 2014 December 2014 January 2015 February 2015 March 2015 April 2015 May 2015 June 2015 July 2015 August 2015 September 2015 October 2015 November 2015 December 2015 January 2016 February 2016 March 2016 April 2016 May 2016 June 2016 July 2016 August 2016 September 2016 October 2016 November 2016 December 2016 January 2017 February 2017 March 2017 April 2017 May 2017 June 2017 July 2017 August 2017 September 2017 October 2017 November 2017 December 2017 January 2018 February 2018 March 2018 April 2018 May 2018 June 2018 July 2018 August 2018 September 2018 October 2018 November 2018 December 2018 January 2019 February 2019 March 2019 April 2019 May 2019 June 2019 July 2019 August 2019 September 2019 October 2019 November 2019 December 2019 January 2020 February 2020 March 2020 April 2020 May 2020 June 2020 July 2020 August 2020 September 2020 October 2020 November 2020 December 2020 January 2021 February 2021 March 2021 April 2021 May 2021 June 2021 July 2021 August 2021 September 2021 October 2021 November 2021 December 2021 January 2022 February 2022 March 2022 April 2022 May 2022 June 2022 July 2022 August 2022 September 2022 October 2022 November 2022 December 2022 January 2023 February 2023 March 2023 April 2023 May 2023 June 2023 July 2023 August 2023 September 2023 October 2023 November 2023 December 2023 January 2024 February 2024 March 2024
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28
29
30
31
News Every Day |

How the Turkish Military Became One of the Middle East’s Strongest Fighting Forces

Kyle Mizokami

Security, Middle East

Straddling two continents, Turkey has one of the most powerful armed forces in Europe or Asia.

Here's What You Need to Remember: Turkey is not, strictly speaking, a nuclear weapons state. However, the country’s status as a Cold War frontline state resulted in Ankara becoming the custodian of large numbers of American tactical nuclear weapons.

Straddling two continents, Turkey has one of the most powerful armed forces in Europe or Asia. Over four hundred thousand strong, Ankara’s armed forces are divided into the Army, Air Force, and Navy. A Special Forces Corps exists and is subordinate directly to the Turkish General Staff. The Turkish military formed a bulwark against the Warsaw Pact during the Cold War, facing Bulgarian, Romanian and Soviet forces that in wartime would drive south through Thrace and seize the Bosphorus Strait.

After the fall of the Soviet Union the Turkish Army downsized, shrinking from approximately 370,000 to 260,000 while shifting to an entirely mechanized force. The Turkish Air Force is one of the strongest in the region, consisting of nearly 300 F-16 Fighting Falcons. Also, the Turkish Navy is one of the largest in the eastern Mediterranean, with more than a dozen submarines and a marine infantry brigade.

Much of the Turkish military’s equipment is foreign made but the country is currently making an effort to build up its military industrial base. Turkey is developing locally produced tanks, rockets and missiles, and is expanding ties with foreign defense contractors. Turkish companies were subcontractors for the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, and Turkey is now developing its own fighter jet. With that in mind, here are five of the most powerful weapons in the Turkish military.

SOM-J Cruise Missile:

As part of Turkey’s contribution to the F-35 program, Turkish defense contractor Roketsan partnered with Lockheed Martin to develop the SOM (Stand Off Missile) cruise missile. SOM is Turkey’s first cruise missile, designed to attack targets both on land and at sea. There are several versions under development but the most advanced is probably SOM-J. SOM-J was designed to be carried internally in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter’s weapon bays, preserving the jet’s stealthy profile against probing enemy radars. The missile is also designed to be carried externally by several types of warplanes—especially the F-16 fighter.

Lockheed Martin describes SOM-J as, “for use against heavily defended, high-value anti-surface warfare (ASuW) and land targets. These include surface-to-air missile (SAM) sites, exposed aircraft, strategic assets, command and control centers and naval vessels.” Like most cruise missiles,SOM-J is turbojet powered and flies at subsonic speeds. It has a range of 155 miles and a high explosive warhead designed to be effective against hardened targets.

Leopard 2 Tank:

Turkey’s first line main battle tank is the the German-made Leopard 2. Developed during the 1970s, the Leopard 2 is a contemporary of the American Abrams. The Leopard 2 features an advanced composite matrix armor, 120-millimeter smoothbore gun, and a 1,500 horsepower diesel engine. The Leopard 2 was designed for the West German Army, giving it a credible tank force against the forces of the Soviet Union and the Warsaw Pact, and at its height the Bundeswehr operated 2,100 Leopard 2 tanks. 

The end of the Cold War saw a unified Germany eviscerate its tank force, and Turkey was one of many countries that purchased second-hand Leopard 2s. Turkey operates several hundred Leopard 2A4, but the tanks lack many of the improvements—particularly additional armor—other Leopard 2 operators such as Germany, Singapore, and Sweden have added to their tanks. In 2016 at least ten Turkish Leopard 2s were destroyed in fighting with Islamic State militants operating anti-tank guided missiles.

F-16 Fighting Falcon:

The Turk Hava Kuvvetleri, or Turkish Air Force operates one of the largest F-16 fleets outside of the United States. The TAF operates approximately 270 F-16s and divides them into 158 F-16Cs in the fighter role and 87 in the trainer role. Turkey owns F-16 Block 30, 40, and 50 jets, the latest entering service in 2012. Turkey’s fighters are armed with AIM-9X Sidewinder and AIM-120 AMRAAM air to air missiles, Maverick air-to-ground missiles, and GBU-12 Paveway II laser guided bombs. 

Turkey not only flies the F-16, it is one of only a handful of countries to manufacture the aircraft. The experience gained has led the country to begin development of the country’s first indigenous fighter, T-FX. A mockup of the fighter was unveiled in the summer of 2019 at the Paris Air Show. Turkey had originally anticipated replacing older Block 30 F-16s with the F-35A, but Turkey’s removal from the Joint Strike Fighter program means the older jets will likely have to fly on, with upgrades, until T-FX is ready.

Type 209/214 Submarines:

Turkey operates fourteen Type 209 submarines, one of the largest undersea fleets in Mediterranean. The boats were laid down between 1972 and 2002, with deliveries ending in 2008. The first tranche of six Type 209/1200 boats displace 1,285 tons submerged, are armed with American Mark 37 torpedoes, and are capable of 22 knots submerged. The last was delivered in 1990, making them quite old, but half were set to receive upgrades in the 2010s. A second tranche of eight Type 209/1400 boats entered service between 1994 and 2008. These are slightly larger, at 1,586 tons submerged, and are equipped with German and UK-made torpedoes.

The oldest of the 209s are set to be replaced with six new Reis-class Type 214 submarines. The Golcuk Naval Shipyard in Izmir will build these submarines under license from Germany. The 214s displace 1,860 tons, and are equipped with eight 533-millimeter torpedo tubes for launching American Mk. 48 torpedoes and Harpoon anti-ship missiles. An important upgrade over previous submarines is the installation of an Air Independent Propulsion (AIP) system, and the ability to travel at speeds of up to six knots on fuel cells. Turkish shipyards began construction of the first ship in 2015. 

B61 Nuclear Bomb:

Turkey is not, strictly speaking, a nuclear weapons state. However, the country’s status as a Cold War frontline state resulted in Ankara becoming the custodian of large numbers of American tactical nuclear weapons. The United States stores an estimated 90 B61 nuclear bombs at Incirlik Air Base, with 50 allocated to U.S. Air Force pilots and 40 allocated to Turkish Air Force pilots.

The B61 nuclear bombs are under strict U.S. military control and safety measures make it nearly impossible for any party other than U.S. forces operating under the National Command Authority to use them. Turkish forces do not have access to them except in times of war, and then only under the guidance and supervision of U.S. personnel.

The basic B61 nuclear gravity bomb weighs approximately 700 pounds. There are three tactical nuclear versions of the bomb, B61-3, B61-4, and B61-10, though it is unknown which model or models are stored in Turkey. The bombs have variable explosive yields ranging from .3 kilotons to 170, 50, and 80 kilotons, respectively. (By comparison, the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima, Japan had a yield of 16 kilotons.)

Kyle Mizokami is a writer based in San Francisco who has appeared in The Diplomat, Foreign Policy, War is Boring and The Daily Beast. In 2009 he cofounded the defense and security blog Japan Security Watch. You can follow him on Twitter: @KyleMizokami. This article first appeared earlier in 2019.

Image: Reuters.

Москва

Рынок вторичной недвижимости Крыма: цены растут, а спрос?

The 10 Intense New Action Movies on Netflix That Left Me on the Edge of My Seat!

Top 10 Love Affair Movies of the 2000s and 2010s

Top 5 Websites to Watch FREE Movies - TV Shows (No Sign up!)

I was diagnosed with cancer aged 39… you are never too rich, too famous or too young, says Dr Philippa Kaye

Ria.city






Read also

Twenty Seven Outs in 2024

Defend our public lands

Last-minute goal sinks Siena men in rivalry matchup with Canisius

News, articles, comments, with a minute-by-minute update, now on Today24.pro

News Every Day

Top 10 Love Affair Movies of the 2000s and 2010s

Today24.pro — latest news 24/7. You can add your news instantly now — here


News Every Day

Top 10 Emmanuelle Seigner Movies



Sports today


Новости тенниса
Даниил Медведев

Теннисист Медведев вышел в полуфинал турнира в Майами, обыграв Харри



Спорт в России и мире
Москва

Актера Свиридова госпитализировали из-за инфицирования после операции в Москве



All sports news today





Sports in Russia today

Москва

Актера Свиридова госпитализировали из-за инфицирования после операции в Москве


Новости России

Game News

Пробный запуск вампирского градостроя Vampire Legacy: City Builder


Russian.city


Москва

Заседание ОП о регулировании работы строительного комплекса пройдет 3 апреля


Губернаторы России
БГАТОиБ

ДИРЕКТОР БРХК ВЛАДИМИР КОЖЕВНИКОВ ПРОВЁЛ "КЛАССНУЮ ВСТРЕЧУ" ДВИЖЕНИЯ ПЕРВЫХ


Московские ветеринары называли самые популярные виды домашних животных

Metaratings: "Спартак" может уволить Абаскаля по ходу сезона, клуб ищет тренера

Четверых фигурантов дела о теракте в «Крокус Сити Холле» внесли в список террористов и экстремистов

Роковая судьба: Две сестры выжили при теракте в Волгодонске, но погибли в "Крокусе"


Invest AG настраивает на своем // Земли в Новой Москве останутся структурам компании на жилых условиях

Концерт "Crush string quartet "с программой «Мировые рок - хиты»

Джиган раскрыл свой вес и описал причину похудения словами «надоело быть жирным»

Розенбаум исполнил «Вечернюю застольную» в память о жертвах теракта в «Крокусе»


«Бомж» Дарья передает всем привет»: Касаткина ответила на слова Винер

Александрова обыграла первую ракетку мира на турнире WTA

Рыбакина о том, что не играла в Индиан-Уэллс из-за болезни: «К сожалению, восстановление заняло много времени»

Российская теннисистка Калинская покинула WTA-1000 из-за проблем со здоровьем



В России назвали топ самых благополучных регионов по итогам 2023 года

Выпуск ЦФА на платформе «Атомайз» поможет снизить нагрузку на экологию

Рынок вторичной недвижимости Крыма: цены растут, а спрос?

Заказать недорогой ремонт кухонной мебели в районе в Москве и Московской области


Среднее число детей на одну женщину в России. Статистика

Фестиваль оперы имени Лхасарана Линховоина открылся оперой «Князь Игорь»

Продолжается регистрация на форум «Мы вместе.Спорт»

«Единая Россия»: Вопросы для «Диктанта Победы» составят ведущие историки


Гордость Сибири: трудовые династии завода холдинга «Швабе» отметили благодарностями

Появилось видео с массовой дракой в Москве

Дочь актрисы Анастасии Заворотнюк призналась, что снимает стресс ходьбой

Один из фигурантов дела о теракте в «Крокусе» обжаловал арест



Путин в России и мире






Персональные новости Russian.city
Людвиг ван Бетховен

ДНК Бетховена показала отсутствие у него музыкальных талантов



News Every Day

I was diagnosed with cancer aged 39… you are never too rich, too famous or too young, says Dr Philippa Kaye




Friends of Today24

Музыкальные новости

Персональные новости