Analysis
Smart, independent reporting on Turkey's politics, economy and foreign affairs.
Teknofest, Turkey’s flagship defense and technology festival organized by the T3 Foundation — whose board is chaired by Selçuk Bayraktar, son-in-law of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and head of Baykar — kicked off this year with a maritime focus under the theme “Blue Homeland.”
The high-speed target drone Şimşek, developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), has been transformed into a kamikaze platform, Defense Industry Presidency chief Haluk Görgün announced on Aug. 22.
Aselsan delivered 47 vehicles for the Steel Dome air defense system at a ceremony attended by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.
Japanese Defense Minister Gen. Nakatani toured the facilities of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Baykar to examine Turkish-made aircraft and unmanned aerial vehicles. His visit followed a meeting with his Turkish counterpart, Defense Minister Yaşar Güler.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and French President Emmanuel Macron held a phone call on Aug. 21, their first direct contact since the NATO summit in June. The two leaders discussed Russia’s war in Ukraine, the crisis in Gaza, and bilateral cooperation, with Erdoğan again stressing Ankara’s interest in deepening defense ties with France. Both later shared posts on X, tagging each other in messages that underlined common concerns but also revealed different priorities. On bilateral ties, Erdoğan said Turkey valued closer cooperation with France, particularly in the defense industry, and wanted to keep advancing relations across multiple fields. Ankara has long sought approval from Paris to procure European air-defense systems. A green light for the sale of Eurosam GIE’s SAMP/T could accelerate Turkey’s plan to build its own missile shield, described as a “steel dome,” within two to three years.
ASSAN, one of Turkey’s top private-sector ammunition producers and an exporter to more than 60 countries, is under scrutiny following allegations of illegal staffing, supply delays, fraud, and improper transfer of state-developed defense technologies, according to Cumhuriyet daily.
Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan warned Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) that Turkey would not stand idly by when its security is threatened, as Ankara and Damascus signed a new defense cooperation deal.
The Defense Ministry has completed its investigation into the deaths of 12 soldiers who were exposed to methane gas in a cave in northern Iraq during a search operation on July 6, concluding that there was no evidence of negligence or misconduct on the part of the commanders involved in the incident.
The Syrian government has requested support from Turkey to strengthen the country's defense capabilities and fight terrorist organizations, particularly Islamic State, the Defense Ministry said.
The Defense Ministry announced that 12 soldiers died on July 6 from methane gas during a search of a cave previously used as a hospital by the PKK in northern Iraq. Opposition parties called for a parliamentary commission to investigate whether the necessary precautions, including the use of gas masks and detectors, were taken when the soldiers entered the cave, but this proposal was rejected by AKP and MHP votes.
A few days after the new U.S. envoy to Germany took up office in Berlin in 2013, news broke out that Washington had been spying on German Chancellor Angela Merkel’s phone since 2002.
In Turkish, ağır abi, literally “heavy-weight bro”—is not your run-of-the-mill elder sibling. He is a stoic, charismatic figure who commands respect with the mere arch of an eyebrow. He doesn’t talk much; he doesn’t need to. His presence alone does the heavy lifting. And if anyone currently embodies the essence of an ağır abi, it’s Hakan Fidan, Turkey’s inscrutable foreign minister. Fidan, poker-faced and perpetually unruffled, has become the leading man in Turkey’s diplomatic theater, even overshadowing the usual stars, such as President Erdoğan and the minister of defense. He seized center stage after the fall of Bashar al-Assad’s regime in Syria, stepping up to the podium in Doha with all the composure of a man placing bets in a high-stakes poker game. His words called for an inclusive transition in Syria: “The new administration must be established in an orderly manner. There must never be a desire for revenge. It is time to unite and reconstruct the country.”