Turkey Military News, Reports & Data

[Tshering22]

Turkey-Africa summit comes amid Ankara's rising defence exports to the continent

Armed with battle-tested drones, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been deepening defence ties with African countries ahead of a major gathering of the continent's leaders in Istanbul.

The two-day Turkey-Africa partnership summit starting Friday comes fast on the heels of a top-level business forum in October that focused on investment and trade.

The next phase of this fast-blossoming relationship is security, experts say, with a host of African leaders looking to buy up military hardware at cheaper prices and with fewer strings attached.

Leaders and top ministers from 39 countries -- including 13 presidents -- have confirmed attendance, with Erdogan set to make a speech on Saturday.

Ankara already has a military base in Somalia, and Morocco and Tunisia reportedly took their first delivery of Turkish combat drones in September.

Angola became the latest to express an interest in unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) during Erdogan's first visit to the southern African country in October.

Turkey in August also signed a military cooperation pledge with Ethiopian Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed, who has been embroiled in a war with Tigrayan rebels for the past year.

"The most important sector is the defence sector because this is a new asset. Turkey has pushed this sector a lot, especially drones," Federico Donelli, an international relations researcher at the University of Genoa, told AFP.

'Everyone asks about UAVs'
Russia has been the dominant player on the African arms market, accounting for 49 percent of the continent's imports between 2015 and 2019, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI).

But interest in Turkish weaponry is peaking.

The TB2 Bayraktar model is in high demand after it was credited with swinging the fate of conflicts in Libya and Azerbaijan's breakaway region of Nagorno-Karabakh in the past few years.

The drones are made by the private Baykar company, run by one of Erdogan's sons-in-law.

"Everywhere I go in Africa, everyone asks about UAVs," Erdogan boasted after a visit to Angola, Nigeria and Togo in October.

Some of the closest scrutiny has focused on Turkey's ties with Ethiopia, where a brutal conflict has killed thousands, displaced more than two million and driven hundreds of thousands into famine-like conditions, according to UN estimates.

A Western source said Turkey sent an undisclosed number of combat drones in support of Abiy's campaign earlier this year, but that Ankara has since responded to international pressure and halted the sales. "Ethiopia can buy these drones from whoever they want," Turkey's foreign ministry spokesman said in October, neither confirming or denying the sales.

Soaring sales
Official Turkish data does not break down the details of military sales to individual countries, only giving the total sales amount for each month.

These have soared spectacularly in the past year.

Turkish defence and aviation exports to Ethiopia rose to $94.6 million between January and November from around $235,000 in the same period last year, according to figures published by the Turkish Exporters Assembly.

Sales to Angola, Chad and Morocco experienced similar jumps.

Turkey's drones first made international headlines after Ankara signed two deals with the UN-recognised Libyan government covering maritime and security in 2019.

It then swarmed the conflict zone with drones, stalling an advance by rebel eastern forces backed by Turkey's regional rivals and paving the way for a truce.

Turkey cemented its drones' reputation last year by helping Azerbaijan recapture most of the land it lost to separatist ethnic Armenian forces in disputed Nagorno-Karabakh nearly three decades ago.

"Now Turkey with drones has more cards to play when they have to bargain with other countries," researcher Donelli said.

"This is a very good bargaining chip for Turkey."

Growing network
The head of Turkey's Foreign Economic Relations Board -- the NGO that hosted the October forum in Istanbul -- insisted the growing relationship was not just about weapons.

"We care about the defence sector and our relations with Africa," the board's head Nail Olpak told AFP.

"But I would like to emphasise that if we see the defence sector only as weapons, rockets, guns, tanks and rifles, it would be wrong."

He highlighted Turkish mine-clearing vehicles in Togo, which qualify as defence industry sales.

Donelli agreed, referring to Togo's plans to improve its army with the support of Turkey through training and armoured vehicles, weapons and other kinds of equipment.

Turkey has reportedly set up a web of 37 military offices across Africa in all, in line with Erdogan's affirmed goal of tripling the annual trade volume with the continent to $75 billion in the coming years.

This is an interesting new market that the Turks have managed to secure. Using a mix of religion, donation and support where Islamic African countries have failed to find an alternative to Chinese imports, Turkey has managed to become the alternative.

From a military perspective, Turks are playing an interesting game, punching way above their weight, despite their idiotic economic policies and accelerated slide towards the 16th century.

 

[Angel of War]

This is an interesting new market that the Turks have managed to secure. Using a mix of religion, donation and support where Islamic African countries have failed to find an alternative to Chinese imports, Turkey has managed to become the alternative.

From a military perspective, Turks are playing an interesting game, punching way above their weight, despite their idiotic economic policies and accelerated slide towards the 16th century.

Turkey is on the same track as Pakistan . They have a Rag tag economy yet trying to maintain an effective military posture

 

[KurtisBrian]

cue suitable nationalistic music.

Bigger Business: Türkiye Unveils F142 Frigate Design

www.oryxspioenkop.com

Bigger Business: Turkey Unveils F142 Frigate Design





Bigger Business: Turkey Unveils F142 Frigate Design
Oryx Monday, January 03, 2022 Corvette C92 , Dearsan 0 Comments

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

As naval shipbuilders in Europe face fierce competition by catering to a market that has meanwhile become too small for all of them to survive the coming decades, naval shipbuilding in Turkey is booming. Currently offering a wide range of naval vessels and arguably just as important, the associated armament and radar systems, at prices that are actually attainable for most countries worldwide, Turkish naval shipyards have achieved significant successes during the last decade. The most successful of these shipyards are Yonca-Onuk, STM and Dearsan. The latter two offer anything from small submarines to large frigate designs, one of which will be the subject of this article.

Turkey's technological growth in the naval sector has meanwhile meant that the country's shipyards' portifolios are steadily expanding to include ever larger and even novel ship designs. The year 2021 witnessed the unveilment of three armed unmanned surface vessel (USV) types, the ULAQ-series by ARES, the NB57/RD09 by Aselsan and Sefine Shipyard and the USV 15 by Dearsan. [1] [2] [3] The ULAQ-series of USVs can be armed with anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine weaponry and long-range anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The large scale introduction of these USVs to the Aegean Sea could alter the current naval balance firmly in Turkey's favour, and take over many of the tasks previously carried out by manned vessels.

For their novelty, the USVs are certain to garner the most attention. Nonetheless, the design of larger naval ships too indicate a continuing trend of modernisation and an increase in capabilities in Turkey's defence industry. One of these designs is the F142, a large type of frigate first unveiled by Dearsan in late 2021. [4] The F142 is the largest and most heavily armed ship ever designed by Dearsan Shipyard. The F142 will have a length overall of 142 metres, a maximum beam of 18.5 metres and a displacement of 5,500 tonnes. In comparison, Dearsan's previous largest design came in at a length of 'only' 92 metres and a displacement of 1,600 tonnes. [5]



The F142's most daunting weapon system is a 32-cell Vertical Launch System (VLS) capable of firing the 20km-ranged VL MICA surface-to-air missile (SAM). Two torpedo launching systems are also carried, which can be used to fire torpedoes at submarines detected by the F142's own sonar or its onboard anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter. For close-in defence, two forward and aft-facing 35mm Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millennium Gun close-in weapon systems (CIWS), two 12.7mm remote weapon stations (RWS) and six chaff decoy launching systems are present. Forward armament consists of a 76mm Super Rapid naval gun or an indigenous Turkish 76mm naval cannon. [6]

The F142 also boasts the impressive amount of 16 anti-ship missiles (AShMs) to unleash on its opponents, likely consisting of the indigenous Atmaca AShM or a foreign design depending on the customer's requirement. With up to sixteen AShMs the only limiting factor on its capabilities is the ship's ability to detect its targets, so significant space has been dedicated to the installment of suitable radar systems. On the F142 this comes in the form of numerous radars designed to actively detect and track multiple targets at long ranges (including an AESA radar) and a number of EO/IR systems. Also carried is an extensive electronic warfare (EW) suite by Elettronica of Italy for defensive EW operations.




After constructing sixteen Tuzla class patrol boats for the Turkish Navy from 2010 to 2014, Dearsan Shipyard (in a joint venture with Gülhan Shipyard) was awarded a number of contracts by Turkmenistan to equip its State Border Service (Coast Guard) and Navy starting in the early 2010s. This has so far led to the delivery of at least 29 naval vessels, including one corvette, ten patrol boats and six fast attack craft (FAC). In November 2021 it became known that Dearsan had been awarded a contract to deliver two 76m OPV 76s to the Nigerian Navy, succesfully outcompeting shipyards in Israel, the Netherlands, China and Singapore. [7]

The largest naval design by Dearsan actually constructed so far is the 92 metres long Deniz Han corvette (design designation: Corvette C92), the first out of two Turkmen-class corvettes to be built for the Turkmenistan Navy. The Deniz Han is the most well-armed naval vessel in the Caspian Sea, boasting an Oto Melara 76mm main gun, eight 200km-ranged Otomat Mk 2 Block IV AShMs, sixteen 20km-ranged VL MICA surface-to-air missiles, a Roketsan ASW rocket launcher, an Aselsan 35mm Gökdeniz CIWS and four 25mm and 12.7mm remote weapon stations. The vessel also features the same electronic warfare suite that equips the design of the F142.

​

The Deniz Han corvette of the Turkmenistan Navy.

While the Tuzla class has proven its worth in service with the Turkish Navy, the F142 was designed too late to participate in the tender for Turkey's future frigate, which was ultimately won by STM in the mid-2010s. [8] The resulting design is known as the İstif class (sometimes also referred to as the Istanbul class), which similarly comes equipped with sixteen anti-ship missiles. The lead vessel of the class, TCG İstanbul, was launched in January 2021, and bidding for the construction of three more vessels in the class is set to commence in early 2022. [9]

Most of Dearsan's naval designs are specially designed for export. Although the F142 does not appear to have been designed to meet the requirements of a specific country, nations that could be interested in the frigate design include Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco and a number of countries in South America. STM has already offered its CF3500 frigate design based on the Ada class corvette to Colombia in late December 2021, paving the way for Turkey to enter the South American naval market. [10]

​

The Turkish Navy's upcoming İstif class frigate. This class too is armed with 16x Atmaca AShMs while sporting a lighter SAM loadout of sixteen missiles and one CIWS instead of two on the F142.

In a timespan of some ten years Turkey's naval shipyards have come up with an impressive number of designs in almost every ship class. Designed along with the ships are a multitude of modern indigenous weapon systems, radars and sensors. As a result, Turkish shipyards soon no longer have to rely on foreign-made weaponry when offering their ships for export. For Dearsan specifically, this includes its newly-unveiled USV lineage, a 33-metres midget submarine as well as conventional vessels like the Turkmen class corvettes and the F142 frigate. It doesn't seem unthinkable that these could soon reach entirely new markets in Europe, South America and Southeast Asia.

​

Dearsan's 33-metres Light Submarine (L SUB 33).

[1] Turkey begins the mass-production of ULAQ armed USV https://navalpost.com/turkey-begins-the-mass-production-of-ulaq/
[2] Turkish Companies Team Up For New Armed USV Projects https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/07/turkish-companies-team-up-for-new-armed-usv-projects/
[3] Turkey’s Dearsan Shipyard unveils new combat USV https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/12/turkeys-dearsan-shipyard-unveils-new-combat-usv/
[4] Frigate F-142 http://www.dearsan.com/en/products/naval-vessels/frigate-f142
[5] Corvette C92 http://www.dearsan.com/en/products/naval-vessels/corvette-c92
[6] Turkey’s New 76mm Naval Gun to Enter Service in 2022 https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/12/turkeys-new-76mm-naval-gun-to-enter-service-in-2022/
[7] Maritime Success: Nigeria Orders Turkish OPV 76s https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/12/maritime-success-nigeria-orders-turkish.html
[8] I Class Frigate https://www.stm.com.tr/en/our-solutions/naval-engineering/i-class-frigate
[9] Turkey opens bidding for three new frigates https://www.dailysabah.com/business/defense/turkey-gears-up-to-build-3-new-domestic-warships
[10] STM, A Reliable Partner Of The World’s Navies, Presents Its Naval Projects And Tactical Mini UAV Systems At Expodefensa! https://www.stm.com.tr/en/media/new...-and-tactical-mini-uav-systems-expodefensa-en


I wonder if Europe and North Africa are beginning to become concerned that Turkey with it's new found military strength might gobble gobble up the entire Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish made fighting ships getting bigger.

 

[Tshering22]

Turkey is on the same track as Pakistan . They have a Rag tag economy yet trying to maintain an effective military posture

Turkish economy is very diversified. Yes, they are currently going down badly, but given the stability of Turkish economy in the last 30 years, it will bounce back once Erdogan is kicked out which is somewhere around mid-2023. He may be a tyrant of a president, but given his health, drop in popularity and the hit on people's wallet, not even the most conservative Turks (who happen to be poor, semi-urban or rural class Turkish citizens, having suffered the most from this currency fall) will vote for him.

Please don't go by the drivel you see on Pakistani/Bangladeshi forums & Reddit boards. Those people live in a fantasy land. In fact, if you are visiting there, please do visit Turkish sections. Unlike the rest of the forum, the Turkish members have a more realistic perspective about their economy, their expectations, and how they intend to go forward. You have to visit Turkey, stay there for some time, meet with the people (not just in Istanbul, but even the hinterlands) to understand the Turkish mindset. Their current ruling dispensation will change in the near future; having spent considerable and multiple visiting times in Turkey, I can tell you that.

In fact, the one area where Turkey is set to gain big-time is the Turkish military exports. The UAVs are capturing the limelight, but Turkey's biggest & most prominent exports are light armoured vehicles, artillery, missiles, electronic warfare systems, rockets and small arms. Otokar and BMC alone have considerable customer bases.

Basically, when economy picks up in the post-Erdogan era, it will boom big time due to a few steps that the CHP government would take starting 2023:

1. Rectifying the fiscal blunders including stabilizing interest rates to stem the spiralling Lira
2. Export-driven construction & infrastructure projects
3. Augment the emerging engineering & tech industry as a result of the burgeoning earnings from defence

 

[Tshering22]

cue suitable nationalistic music.

Bigger Business: Türkiye Unveils F142 Frigate Design

www.oryxspioenkop.com

Bigger Business: Turkey Unveils F142 Frigate Design





Bigger Business: Turkey Unveils F142 Frigate Design
Oryx Monday, January 03, 2022 Corvette C92 , Dearsan 0 Comments

By Stijn Mitzer and Joost Oliemans

As naval shipbuilders in Europe face fierce competition by catering to a market that has meanwhile become too small for all of them to survive the coming decades, naval shipbuilding in Turkey is booming. Currently offering a wide range of naval vessels and arguably just as important, the associated armament and radar systems, at prices that are actually attainable for most countries worldwide, Turkish naval shipyards have achieved significant successes during the last decade. The most successful of these shipyards are Yonca-Onuk, STM and Dearsan. The latter two offer anything from small submarines to large frigate designs, one of which will be the subject of this article.

Turkey's technological growth in the naval sector has meanwhile meant that the country's shipyards' portifolios are steadily expanding to include ever larger and even novel ship designs. The year 2021 witnessed the unveilment of three armed unmanned surface vessel (USV) types, the ULAQ-series by ARES, the NB57/RD09 by Aselsan and Sefine Shipyard and the USV 15 by Dearsan. [1] [2] [3] The ULAQ-series of USVs can be armed with anti-ship missiles, anti-submarine weaponry and long-range anti-tank guided missiles (ATGMs). The large scale introduction of these USVs to the Aegean Sea could alter the current naval balance firmly in Turkey's favour, and take over many of the tasks previously carried out by manned vessels.

For their novelty, the USVs are certain to garner the most attention. Nonetheless, the design of larger naval ships too indicate a continuing trend of modernisation and an increase in capabilities in Turkey's defence industry. One of these designs is the F142, a large type of frigate first unveiled by Dearsan in late 2021. [4] The F142 is the largest and most heavily armed ship ever designed by Dearsan Shipyard. The F142 will have a length overall of 142 metres, a maximum beam of 18.5 metres and a displacement of 5,500 tonnes. In comparison, Dearsan's previous largest design came in at a length of 'only' 92 metres and a displacement of 1,600 tonnes. [5]



The F142's most daunting weapon system is a 32-cell Vertical Launch System (VLS) capable of firing the 20km-ranged VL MICA surface-to-air missile (SAM). Two torpedo launching systems are also carried, which can be used to fire torpedoes at submarines detected by the F142's own sonar or its onboard anti-submarine warfare (ASW) helicopter. For close-in defence, two forward and aft-facing 35mm Rheinmetall Oerlikon Millennium Gun close-in weapon systems (CIWS), two 12.7mm remote weapon stations (RWS) and six chaff decoy launching systems are present. Forward armament consists of a 76mm Super Rapid naval gun or an indigenous Turkish 76mm naval cannon. [6]

The F142 also boasts the impressive amount of 16 anti-ship missiles (AShMs) to unleash on its opponents, likely consisting of the indigenous Atmaca AShM or a foreign design depending on the customer's requirement. With up to sixteen AShMs the only limiting factor on its capabilities is the ship's ability to detect its targets, so significant space has been dedicated to the installment of suitable radar systems. On the F142 this comes in the form of numerous radars designed to actively detect and track multiple targets at long ranges (including an AESA radar) and a number of EO/IR systems. Also carried is an extensive electronic warfare (EW) suite by Elettronica of Italy for defensive EW operations.




After constructing sixteen Tuzla class patrol boats for the Turkish Navy from 2010 to 2014, Dearsan Shipyard (in a joint venture with Gülhan Shipyard) was awarded a number of contracts by Turkmenistan to equip its State Border Service (Coast Guard) and Navy starting in the early 2010s. This has so far led to the delivery of at least 29 naval vessels, including one corvette, ten patrol boats and six fast attack craft (FAC). In November 2021 it became known that Dearsan had been awarded a contract to deliver two 76m OPV 76s to the Nigerian Navy, succesfully outcompeting shipyards in Israel, the Netherlands, China and Singapore. [7]

The largest naval design by Dearsan actually constructed so far is the 92 metres long Deniz Han corvette (design designation: Corvette C92), the first out of two Turkmen-class corvettes to be built for the Turkmenistan Navy. The Deniz Han is the most well-armed naval vessel in the Caspian Sea, boasting an Oto Melara 76mm main gun, eight 200km-ranged Otomat Mk 2 Block IV AShMs, sixteen 20km-ranged VL MICA surface-to-air missiles, a Roketsan ASW rocket launcher, an Aselsan 35mm Gökdeniz CIWS and four 25mm and 12.7mm remote weapon stations. The vessel also features the same electronic warfare suite that equips the design of the F142.

​

The Deniz Han corvette of the Turkmenistan Navy.

While the Tuzla class has proven its worth in service with the Turkish Navy, the F142 was designed too late to participate in the tender for Turkey's future frigate, which was ultimately won by STM in the mid-2010s. [8] The resulting design is known as the İstif class (sometimes also referred to as the Istanbul class), which similarly comes equipped with sixteen anti-ship missiles. The lead vessel of the class, TCG İstanbul, was launched in January 2021, and bidding for the construction of three more vessels in the class is set to commence in early 2022. [9]

Most of Dearsan's naval designs are specially designed for export. Although the F142 does not appear to have been designed to meet the requirements of a specific country, nations that could be interested in the frigate design include Indonesia, Malaysia, Morocco and a number of countries in South America. STM has already offered its CF3500 frigate design based on the Ada class corvette to Colombia in late December 2021, paving the way for Turkey to enter the South American naval market. [10]

​

The Turkish Navy's upcoming İstif class frigate. This class too is armed with 16x Atmaca AShMs while sporting a lighter SAM loadout of sixteen missiles and one CIWS instead of two on the F142.

In a timespan of some ten years Turkey's naval shipyards have come up with an impressive number of designs in almost every ship class. Designed along with the ships are a multitude of modern indigenous weapon systems, radars and sensors. As a result, Turkish shipyards soon no longer have to rely on foreign-made weaponry when offering their ships for export. For Dearsan specifically, this includes its newly-unveiled USV lineage, a 33-metres midget submarine as well as conventional vessels like the Turkmen class corvettes and the F142 frigate. It doesn't seem unthinkable that these could soon reach entirely new markets in Europe, South America and Southeast Asia.

​

Dearsan's 33-metres Light Submarine (L SUB 33).

[1] Turkey begins the mass-production of ULAQ armed USV https://navalpost.com/turkey-begins-the-mass-production-of-ulaq/
[2] Turkish Companies Team Up For New Armed USV Projects https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/07/turkish-companies-team-up-for-new-armed-usv-projects/
[3] Turkey’s Dearsan Shipyard unveils new combat USV https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/12/turkeys-dearsan-shipyard-unveils-new-combat-usv/
[4] Frigate F-142 http://www.dearsan.com/en/products/naval-vessels/frigate-f142
[5] Corvette C92 http://www.dearsan.com/en/products/naval-vessels/corvette-c92
[6] Turkey’s New 76mm Naval Gun to Enter Service in 2022 https://www.navalnews.com/naval-news/2021/12/turkeys-new-76mm-naval-gun-to-enter-service-in-2022/
[7] Maritime Success: Nigeria Orders Turkish OPV 76s https://www.oryxspioenkop.com/2021/12/maritime-success-nigeria-orders-turkish.html
[8] I Class Frigate https://www.stm.com.tr/en/our-solutions/naval-engineering/i-class-frigate
[9] Turkey opens bidding for three new frigates https://www.dailysabah.com/business/defense/turkey-gears-up-to-build-3-new-domestic-warships
[10] STM, A Reliable Partner Of The World’s Navies, Presents Its Naval Projects And Tactical Mini UAV Systems At Expodefensa! https://www.stm.com.tr/en/media/new...-and-tactical-mini-uav-systems-expodefensa-en


I wonder if Europe and North Africa are beginning to become concerned that Turkey with it's new found military strength might gobble gobble up the entire Eastern Mediterranean.
Turkish made fighting ships getting bigger.

A post-Erdogan Turkish administration would focus on building more cloud and improving ties with the EU rather than driving them into the corner. The CHP is nothing like the AKP.

Read about the steps taken governments of Bulent Ecevit and Ismet Inonu. Both were very reasonable & far-sighted PMs who steered Turkey towards a direction similar to Korea & Japan (sans the American-doormat attitude).

Turkey would like to encourage more European investments rather than scaring them away unlike AKP under Erdogan that has been following a wannabe-Iran policy. They won't be an EU's Japan, but they will definitely cease the aggression towards Greeks and Armenians and encourage Azerbaijan also to shed that attitude.

But make no mistake; the global desperation for non-big-power alternative defence sources is going to be a jackpot for Turkey. And they will capitalize on it big time. Africa, Indian subcontinent, Eastern Europe and Southeast Asia are their key focus markets.

Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Thailand, Pakistan, Maldives, Bangladesh, Niger, Chad, Sudan, Somalia, Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco, Tunisia, Libya (once it normalizes), all the Stans of Central Asia (especially Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan with their oil wealth)... they have a bright future here.

 

[KurtisBrian]

A post-Erdogan Turkish administration would focus on building more cloud and improving ties with the EU rather than driving them into the corner. The CHP is nothing like the AKP.

Okay

Perhaps time will reveal whether the "problems" that are manifesting themselves in and around Turkey are the result of the actions of the Turks and Turkish gov't or actually just an inevitable and intentional biproduct of policies and actions of those with influence in Europe, United States or some other place.

History shows dealing with Europe can be difficult.

 

[Tshering22]

Okay

Perhaps time will reveal whether the "problems" that are manifesting themselves in and around Turkey are the result of the actions of the Turks and Turkish gov't or actually just an inevitable and intentional biproduct of policies and actions of those with influence in Europe, United States or some other place.

History shows dealing with Europe can be difficult.

They don't have a choice. Turks as people are too Europeanized today to choose the Middle East. Not to mention the massive investments that the European (esp. German) banks hold in Turkish economy. As for making concessions to Europe, I don't think there is anything of that sort involved since Turkey doesn't have to forfeit any land.

They will likely want to co-develop weapons platforms and export them with European partners and most likely cease claiming Greek and Cypriot waters. TRNC may remain contentious though.

 

[KurtisBrian]

They don't have a choice. Turks as people are too Europeanized today to choose the Middle East. Not to mention the massive investments that the European (esp. German) banks hold in Turkish economy. As for making concessions to Europe, I don't think there is anything of that sort involved since Turkey doesn't have to forfeit any land.

good. Glad they are associated with the Euros.

 

[Tshering22]

Ain't this a tad too ambitious? Even by Erdogan's standards? I mean unless he has managed to convince SAAB, BAE or KAI to transfer readily-available technology, flying a 5th generation jet when Turkey has made not a single any-generation jet, would be a miracle.

Turkey’s fighter jet to make first flight in 2025

The National Combat Aircraft (MMU), Turkey’s long-awaited 5th generation fighter jet, will make its first flight in 2025, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday.

Turkey’s first indigenous combat aircraft will emerge from the hangar in 2023, he said at a mass opening ceremony of 16 factories that will operate in the Space and Aerospace Industry Zone in the capital Ankara, an engineering hub for manufacturing the groundbreaking jet fighter.
"It will take its place in the skies in 2029 as the strike force of the Turkish Air Force, after successfully completing its test procedures," said Erdoğan.

Some 2,300 engineers involved in the project will carry out their work at this hub, Erdoğan stressed.
Turkey is among the elite club of the 10 countries in the world that can design and build their own warships and is also among the top three drone producers, Erdoğan said.

Touting the growth of Turkey’s defense industry over the last two decades under the rule of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Erdoğan said the number of its defense industry projects have topped 750.
Erdoğan said their budget also jumped to $75 billion and annual turnover rose to $10 billion.

And this is not even a 4++ generation fighter, where you can just import all components and assemble them in Turkey. No one would be willing to part with sensitive technology. Turkey has been destroying all its targets and releasing new platforms. And they are effective in combat. Otokar & BMC's armoured vehicles, ROKETSAN's missiles, ASELSAN's electronics, TAI's drones, etc., have been effective both in CT and in full-blown wars. What's more, they are now replacing imported components at home.
That being said, if Turks pull this one off, I will be mighty impressed.

 

[KurtisBrian]

Turkey is advancing quickly with unmanned aircraft.

Unmanned Fighter Jet Hits Production Line: Turkey’s Baykar

Turkish firm Baykar that produces Bayraktar TB2 combat drones said the first prototype of the company-developed unmanned fighter jet has entered production line.

"A larger and more agile fish has entered the production line three and a half years later," Selçuk Bayraktar, chief technology officer (CTO) at Baykar, posted on Twitter.

He was referring to the period when Baykar started manufacturing its landmark combat drone Akıncı, dubbed "the flying fish."

The National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System (MIUS) has been named Kızılelma ("Red Apple"), the official added. It will likely make its first flight by the end of 2023.

MUIS will be jet-powered and is expected to be capable of taking off from and landing on Turkey’s flagship-to-be amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu. (bold by me)

The autonomously maneuvering MIUS will be capable of operating in tandem with piloted aircraft, and may carry air-to-air missiles, the company says.

It is projected to conduct a multitude of military actions, such as strategic offensives, close air support (CAS), missile offensives, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and destruction of enemy air defenses (DEAD).

Defense World

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[Abdus Salem killed]

Turkey is advancing quickly with unmanned aircraft.

Unmanned Fighter Jet Hits Production Line: Turkey’s Baykar

Turkish firm Baykar that produces Bayraktar TB2 combat drones said the first prototype of the company-developed unmanned fighter jet has entered production line.

"A larger and more agile fish has entered the production line three and a half years later," Selçuk Bayraktar, chief technology officer (CTO) at Baykar, posted on Twitter.

He was referring to the period when Baykar started manufacturing its landmark combat drone Akıncı, dubbed "the flying fish."

The National Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicle System (MIUS) has been named Kızılelma ("Red Apple"), the official added. It will likely make its first flight by the end of 2023.

MUIS will be jet-powered and is expected to be capable of taking off from and landing on Turkey’s flagship-to-be amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu. (bold by me)

The autonomously maneuvering MIUS will be capable of operating in tandem with piloted aircraft, and may carry air-to-air missiles, the company says.

It is projected to conduct a multitude of military actions, such as strategic offensives, close air support (CAS), missile offensives, suppression of enemy air defenses (SEAD) and destruction of enemy air defenses (DEAD).


View attachment 146037

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View News at Defense World

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No offense looks fake

 

[KurtisBrian]

No offense looks fake

Yeah, probably just a prop. Odds would favor a Turkish unmanned jet being of a design similar to the Global Hawk and Bayraktar. Likely, need very slow approach speeds to be able to land on that LHD ship.

 

[Soldier355]

Previously, the missile has already been tested, the result of hitting it in the photo, according to the Turkish side, the missiles are not very susceptible to the effects of most electronic warfare systems. The ground installation of the complex has four launch containers and is placed on the chassis of the Russian KamAZ (8X8). The new Atmaca rocket is subsonic and is equipped with a Safran (Turbomeca) TR140 turbojet engine and a solid rocket booster. In the future, the rocket engine will be replaced by a Turkish small-sized KALE 3500 turbojet engine. The warhead of the rocket is a high-explosive fragmentation unit weighing 250 kg. The missile is equipped with an active radar seeker, as well as an inertial satellite guidance unit and two-way data transmission equipment. During the flight, the missile can be given new targets to hit. The missile range is 250 kilometers, weight -750 kg. Rocket length from 4.3 - 5.2 m.

 

[Soldier355]

New Bayraktar Akinci UAVs entered the Turkish troops. In addition, contracts for delivery abroad have already been concluded. The Turkish Ministry of Defense does not disclose the number of drones received by the troops. The Akıncı UAV belongs to the class of "heavy" drones and is equipped with a phased array radar. Akıncı is controlled by six computers and an artificial intelligence guidance system. The drone is capable of carrying both conventional and guided weapons. The Bayraktar Akinci is also equipped with air-to-air guided missiles, allowing it to attack aerial targets as well. The wingspan of Bayraktar Akinci is 20 meters, the length of the device is 12.2 meters, the size of the drone is huge and this makes it vulnerable to many air defense systems. The maximum takeoff weight of the UAV is 6000 kg, the maximum payload weight is 1350 kg. The operating altitude of the drone is approximately 9150 meters, the practical ceiling is 12,200 meters. UAV Akıncı can stay in the air for 24 hours and fly, take off and land in a fully automatic mode. UAV maximum speed - 360 km/h

 

[Shuturmurg]

 

[shade]

India is not a NATO/US/Western vassal state, Turkey was, so it had to be punished.
We meanwhile are our own country, so they prefer making deals with us.

 

[Blademaster]

Somebody need to tell that retard at least India didn't try to buy F-35s.

 

[Tshering22]

Somebody need to tell that retard at least India didn't try to buy F-35s.

This sanction business is working in Turkey's favor as it is compelling their government to take the indigenous route. Not having sanctions on Indian military is a big disadvantage for us as in the long run, it keeps us dependent on foreign military imports.

Turkey's biggest test were the 2 wars between Armenia-Azerbaijan and the ongoing Russia-Ukraine war. In both these areas, TB-2s have proven their credibility, including the credibility of those components that they have developed domestically. And there are more than enough orders for Turkey to claim that they are going to be the next drone powerhouse of the region.

 

[Jambudweepa]

From india's point of view , Byraktar is not threat . But this one can be . Stealth shape . Can carry air to air missiles and air to ground missiles with 1.5 ton capacity .


The speed of development seems very fast as well .

 

[Soldier355]

In Turkey, they showed the assembly of the first prototype of the fifth generation fighter TF-X. The assembly of the prototype is scheduled to be completed on March 18, 2023. Earlier, the model of the aircraft was demonstrated at the 53rd Paris Aviation and Space Salon in Le Bourget. The new aircraft is intended for deliveries to the Turkish Armed Forces and should replace the American F-16. The length of the aircraft will be 21 meters, the wingspan will be 14 meters. The TFX fighter will receive two American General Electric F110 engines, later new Turkish engineers will be installed on it. A radar station with an active phased array antenna for the TF-X will be created by the Turkish company ASELSAN.