Free Republic

Officials said Turkey has increased military and security training to Afghanistan as part of the NATO stabilization campaign. They said hundreds of Turkish officers were serving as instructors to the Afghan Army and police. "The Turkish military contingent is no longer going to train basic soldiers, but will focus totally on training leaders through a program," U.S. Lt. Gen. William Caldwell, commander of the NATO training mission in Afghanistan, said. In a briefing on June 19, Caldwell said the leadership training program has already begun. He said the Turkish effort has been taking place in Camp Gazi in the Afghan...

Turkey has acted to address its urgent need for more attack helicopters and is looking at a possible interim deal to bridge the gap until the availability of its delayed Airbus Military A400M transports. To fill the first requirement, Turkey's Undersecretary of Defence Industries (SSM) has decided to buy nine secondhand AgustaWestland A129s from the Italian army. The Turkish army has an active fleet of 28 Bell AH-1s in the P, S and W variants, as listed by Flightglobal's HeliCAS database. It mainly uses the aircraft in the south-east of Turkey against PKK militants, but urgently needs to replace the...

WASHINGTON—Turkey moved closer to severing its relations with Israel, demanding that Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu publicly apologize for his government's high-seas military action against a pro-Palestinian flotilla this week in order to avert a formal diplomatic rupture. Senior Israeli officials responded Friday that their government would never apologize for an act of "self defense" and acknowledged that Israel could be on the verge of losing its closest military and economic ally in the Middle East. Such a development, these officials said, would raise new strategic and diplomatic challenges for Israel if Ankara reorients itself away from its historically pro-Israel and...

Turkey has been marketing its short-range air defense system to Arab League states. Turkey's military-owned Aselsan has been briefing Arab militaries on the company's Pedestal-Mounted Air Defense System (PMADS). The system, based on the U.S.-origin Stinger surface-to-air missile, was designed for very short-range air defense, particularly the protection of critical sites and military bases. "There is interest [in the system] within the region," an executive said. Aselsan displayed PMADS at Sofex-2010, which took place in Amman, Jordan on May 10-13. Executives said Jordan's military has been examining the feasibility of procuring the system, which could also fire French- and Russian-origin...

Turkish police detained about 50 military commanders Monday for allegedly planning to blow up mosques in order to trigger a military takeover and overthrow the Islamic-rooted government. The nationwide sweep highlighted the ongoing struggle between the secular establishment and the Islamic-oriented government - and left many wondering if the military no longer called the shots in a nation accustomed to viewing it as the pillar of the secular state. The detention of 49 senior military officers, according to CNN-Turk television - including members of the elite class known as "Pashas," a title of respect harking back to Ottoman times -...

Turkey Requests New Bid from Eurofighter By Ibrahim TUrkmen, London Published: Friday, July 21, 2006 zaman.com The Turkish Air Force requested a new bid from Eurofighter as part of efforts to strengthen its forces by replacing its planes with a new generation of jet fighters. In response to the Turkish Ministry of Defense’s decision to increase the number of jet fighters it will purchase, Eurofighter’s producer, Aeronautica, began to prepare lower prices for the tender. The company will also issue a response to Turkey regarding its demands for partnership, technology transfers, and industrial participation. Authorities evaluate Turkey’s new demand about...