Free Republic

More than a dozen Turkish navy ships are reportedly still at sea and remain unaccounted for following the botched military coup. The commander of the Turkish navy Admiral Veysel Kosele also remains missing, having been out of contact since Friday evening. It is unclear if he was part of the coup attempt or if he is being held against his will after local media reports said he was tricked into boarding one of the missing ships after being told there was a terrorist attack.

Headline only - linked to a story from the Jerusalem Post with the following quote: "This comment, officials said, could signify a change in Turkish military posture in the event that another flotilla is dispatched to the Gaza Strip. The official said that the chances that Turkey would send navy ships were slim – due to its membership in NATO – but that the issue was of great concern. “This is a definte possibility that we need to prepare for,” a senior defense official said."

Israel has warned that its naval forces will prevent a Turkish-led flotilla of eight blockade-running ships carrying 10,000 tons of aid for the besieged Gaza Strip, a confrontation that could deliver the death blow to the crumbling alliance between Israel and Turkey. The breakup of that strategic alliance was triggered by Israel's 22-day invasion of Gaza in December 2008. Turkey's Islamist government led by Prime Minister Tayep Reccep Erdogan bitterly and volubly opposed that incursion in which some 1,300 Palestinians, mostly civilians, were killed. The alliance with Muslim Turkey, a member of NATO and a key military power in the...

Turkey was examining the prospect of acquiring naval submarines rejected by neighboring Greece. Turkish sources said Ankara could acquire up to six Type 214 submarines from Germany. They said the Turkish Navy could receive the underwater vessels for one-third less than their original price. "This has become a major issue in Turkish relations with Germany," a source said. In 2009, Germany's ThyssenKrupp Marine Systems, citing a 524 million euro debt by Athens, canceled a multi-billion-euro submarine project with the Hellenic Navy. The navy had refused to pay for the first Type 214 submarine, complaining that the platform was defective. The...