Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
The TAF is participating in a US-led military exercise in Libya, where Turkey backed the Government of National Accord (GNA) in the west during the civil war. Meanwhile, attention has again focused on the plane crash in which the GNA Chief of Staff Muhammed Ali Ahmed Al Haddad and his delegation died near Ankara on Dec. 23, 2025.
Hungary’s parliamentary elections on April 12 — described as the toughest test of Prime Minister Viktor Orban’s 16-year rule — will be closely watched not only in Europe but also in Turkey by both the AKP and the opposition.
“It has been assessed that the life raft, having exited its housing, came into contact with the left tail-fuselage section of the aircraft, causing damage to the aircraft’s horizontal and vertical stabilizers, which may have led to the aircraft’s crash,” a Defense Ministry official said on the C-130 military aircraft that crashed on the Georgia-Azerbaijan border on Nov. 11, 2025.
Blue Homeland-26, one of the Turkish Armed Forces’ most extensive exercises this year, was conducted from April 3 to 9 in the Black Sea, the Aegean Sea, and the Eastern Mediterranean, with the participation of 120 ships, 50 aircraft, and 15,000 personnel from the Naval, Land, and Air Force Commands, as well as the Coast Guard Command.
Turkey shows signs of renewing its ties with its NATO alliance partners amid the ongoing Iran crisis. The renewal of vows follows a tempestuous period in its relations not only with the U.S. but also with NATO following the acquisition of the S-400 air defense system from Russia. Particularly over the past 20 years, facing U.S. CAATSA sanctions and Europe’s covert arms embargoes in the fight against the PKK, Turkey’s government and opposition have both questioned the value of NATO membership.
Let us say it plainly at the outset: the answer is no. This is bigger than his wishes or reluctance. For more than a year, based on the operations against CHP municipalities, there has been a slew of analyses claiming that 'Erdoğan will not hold elections'. Similar analyses — citing earthquakes and wars as justification for him avoiding elections — also proved wrong before the 2023 elections and before.
Turkish authorities launched a new anti-drug operation on March 25, detaining high-profile figures from the worlds of sports, business, and entertainment. The raids marked the end of a brief lull in such operations following the appointment of the new interior and justice ministers in February.
The central bank spent approximately $23.5 billion in foreign exchange interventions during the first two weeks of the Iran war to defend the Turkish lira.
The war that erupted on Feb. 28, between Iran, the U.S. and Israel has sparked deep global uncertainty, as Iran targets U.S. bases and strategic energy infrastructure across the Gulf.
Ebru Eroğlu, one of five lieutenants expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) on the grounds of insubordination for raising their swords in the air and chanting the slogan “We are Mustafa Kemal’s soldiers” during the Military Academy’s swearing-in ceremony on August 30, 2024, lost the lawsuit to return to the military she filed against the Defense Ministry.
Following the signing of an agreement with the U.K. in Oct. 2025 to procure 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, the defense ministers of the two countries signed a contract for technical and logistical support regarding the maintenance and operation of these aircraft.
Following test firings on March 21, the SOM-J cruise missile is now ready to move into mass production.