The Weekly Press Information Meeting of the Ministry of National Defense was held in the Doğanbey Firing Exercise Region in Izmir, where the Efes-2026 Exercise was carried out. The following information was shared at the meeting held by Rear Admiral Zeki Aktürk, Press and Public Relations Advisor and Ministry Spokesperson: HAPPY 19 MAY Commemoration of ATATÜRK, YOUTH AND SPORTS DAY. Welcome to the Press Information Meeting of the Ministry of National Defense, which we held in Seferihisar/İzmir on the occasion of the Distinguished Observer Day of the Efes-2026 Exercise.
First of all, – We once again celebrate our 19 May Commemoration of Atatürk, Youth and Sports Day, on which we organized many meaningful and special events with our nation. – We commemorate our martyrs and heroic veterans who passed away into eternity, especially the founder of our Republic, our Eternal Commander-in-Chief, Gazi Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and his comrades in arms, with mercy and gratitude. Moreover; – We share the pain of our Circassian brothers who were exiled from their homeland 162 years ago (21 May 1864) – and our Crimean Tatar Turk compatriots on the 82nd anniversary of their exile (18-20 May 1944), and once again wish God’s mercy to those who lost their lives.
EFES-2026 EXERCISE CONTINUES WITH SUCCESSFUL Our Turkish Armed Forces; It continues its exercise activities uninterruptedly in order to increase the level of interoperability with friendly and allied countries, improve coordination capabilities and contribute to regional security. In this context; Ephesus-2026 Exercise; Hosted by our country, under the command and management of our Aegean Army Command, with the participation of friendly and allied country elements, it is carried out in two phases: the Computer Aided Command Post between 11-17 April and the Actual Firing Field Phase between 20 April and 21 May, in the Izmir Bay and Doğanbey Firing Exercise Region.
More than 10 thousand personnel, including observers, troops and elements from 50 countries, along with our national elements, are participating in Efes-2026, one of the largest combined and joint exercises of our Turkish Armed Forces. The purpose of the Ephesus-2026 Exercise is a combined and joint operation; – To improve interoperability in planning, coordination and execution, – To test command-control procedures, electronic warfare tactics and techniques, – To implement joint use methods of warfare weapons and tools in the inventory of participating countries, – To develop the planning and execution principles of logistics support, – To create a common cyber security understanding, – To increase the capabilities of countering asymmetric threats and performing hybrid operations.
In the Ephesus Exercise, our high-tech weapon systems, developed in line with the goal of a fully independent defense industry under the leadership of our President, are also used successfully. In this context, in the inventory of our Turkish Armed Forces; – GÖKBEY helicopter, – M-60 T1 tank, – Panter and Boran howitzers, – TRLG-230 and Sungur missiles, – Tayfun, Hisar-A and Hisar-O Air Defense missile systems, – KORKUT Air Defense Weapon Systems, – 35 mm Modern Towed Gun, – Kalkan Air Defense Radar, – Warning UAV Counter System, – Armored Tactical Vehicle Remote Controlled Weapon System (ZTA-UC), – KARAOK Anti-Tank Weapon, – UMTAS Anti-Tank Missile, – Special Purpose Tactical Wheeled Armored Sensor Reconnaissance, Radar, Command and CBRN Vehicles, – Improved Armored Personnel Carrier with SARP Turret, – KARAYEL Boat with Hull, – Mechanical Mine Clearing Equipment (MEMATT), – Vehicle Mounted Mine/IED Detection System (AMTS), – ALKAR 120 mm Mortar Weapon System, – GEZGİN Satellite Terminal, – Firing Support and Guidance (ADY) Systems, – TARAS-II Radiolink System, – Electronic Circuit IED Detection and Neutralization System, – Armored Fuel Tanker, – CBRN Cleaning Drone, – ASLAN İKA, – Paramotor, – Motorcycle Commando Team, – Dragoneye-2, – DORUK-2 Electro-Optical Sensor Systems, – Urban Search and Rescue Vehicle, – Explosives Reconnaissance and Disposal (PMKI) Vehicle, – Mobile Dental Unit, – Mobile Sahr a Units, – Container Kennel, – TEBER and MAM-T SIHA Ammunition, which are planned to be included in the inventory; Various weapons and systems such as – Portable Electronic Attack (MILKAR-A) System, – ALKA Laser Weapon System, – MAGAS-E, – TOLGA Close Air Defense System, – GÖKBERK Laser Weapon System and – Kamikaze Swarm Drone are used for the first time in the Efes-2026 Exercise.
In this exercise, unlike previous EFES exercises; – Network-Land КОСАТЕРЕ Operation Management System, – Artificial intelligence supported analysis application was used in the Military Decision Making Process. In addition, in the exhibition opened on May 16 in Doğanbey Firing Exercise Zone Seferihisar/İzmir, where 55 defense industry companies took part; Within the scope of the inter-university project competition titled “Efes-2026 Defense Science and Technologies”, there are also projects that ranked in the top 10 among 292 applications from 69 universities.
A demonstration flight will be made by our Turkish Stars Aerobatic Team tomorrow (May 21) within the scope of the exercise. Dear Press Members, – Türkiye-TRNC Natural Disasters Search and Rescue Exercise is being carried out in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus between 18-22 May, between 11-29 May; – Technical Interoperability in the Netherlands, – NATO-Serbia in Serbia, – Italian Minex in Italy, – Tunisia Naval in Tunisia, – OPEX (OperationalExperimentation Exercise) exercises in Romania.
Exercise Seakurdu-II is planned to be carried out in the Black Sea, Marmara, Aegean Sea and Eastern Mediterranean between 4-14 June. – Italian Naval Forces Alpino makes a port visit to Antalya between 18-21 May, – Our TCG Oruçreis ship, which is assigned to NATO Standing Maritime Task Group-1 (SNMG-1) between 23 May and 20 August, goes to Rota/Spain on 30-31 May, – Our TCG Amasra mine hunting ship, which participates in the Italian Minex Exercise, arrives in Augusta on 24 May.
/To Italy, – Sangram of the Bangladesh Naval Forces serving in the United Nations Interim Task Force on Lebanon (UNIFIL) will make port visits to Mersin between 26-30 May. Our ship TCG Barbaros, which participated in the “Seventh of May, Water Festival, Sea Festival” held today (May 20) in Thursday/Ordu, was opened to the public. – A delegation from our Naval Forces Command will attend the “Multinational Maritime Partnership (CMF) Maritime Security Conference” to be held in Bahrain on 27-28 May.
– The 6th Maritime Security Conference will be held in Istanbul on 9-10 June by the Maritime Security Center of Excellence Command (MARSEC COE). By our Air Forces Command; Tomorrow (May 21), it is planned to participate in the “Dynamic Targeting Mission”, which will be carried out in Polish airspace within NATO, with our Tanker and Airborne Warning Control (HİK) aircraft and space-based intelligence support (GÖKTÜRK-1).
Within the framework of “Turkish Armed Forces and Aviation Promotion Activities” by SOLOTURK; Demonstration flights will be held in Giresun today (May 20) and in Ordu on May 22. On the other hand, “Air and Missile Defense Sub-Workshop” was held interactively on May 15, hosted by the General Staff, with the participation of our Ministry, Force Commands, Presidency of Defense Industries and Defense Industry companies, in order to evaluate the issues that will provide input to the air defense concept against risks and threats that may arise in today’s conflict and uncertainty environment and in the future battlefield.
– “Painting and Ship Model Competitions Exhibition” with the theme of “Navy and Sea” was opened to the public at Ankara Painting and Sculpture Museum between 18-31 May. – Our athlete, who came third in Europe in the 25-meter Pistol Duet Team Branch at the “Firearms European Championship” held in Croatia between 7-13 May, – Our Naval Academy Swimming Team, which participated in the “International Masters Long Course Summer Swimming Championship” held in Izmir between 14-16 May, on behalf of the Turkish Armed Forces Sports Force and achieved 12 first places, seven second places and nine third places, – 16 We congratulate once again our Turkish Armed Forces Sports Force Yacht Team and our athletes who achieved success in the “42nd National Defense University Naval Academy Cup Yacht Race” held on the Tuzla-Heybeliada route in May.
TERRORISTS CONTINUE TO SURRENDER. During the past week, within the scope of the duties and activities carried out by our Turkish Armed Forces for the peace, security and stability of our country; – 5 more PKK terrorists surrendered, – Work on detecting and destroying mines, improvised explosive devices, caves, shelters and shelters continued in the operation areas. 218 PERSONS WERE CAUGHT AT THE BORDERS Thanks to the intensive and effective measures taken at our borders, 218 people, including 3 members of a terrorist organization, who tried to cross illegally in the last week, were caught and 976 people were prevented before they could cross the border.
Thus, since January 1, the number of people caught attempting to cross the border illegally has reached 3 thousand 162, and the number of people prevented from crossing the border has reached 30 thousand 170. TAF CONTINUES TO CONTRIBUTE TO REGIONAL AND GLOBAL PEACE AND STABILITY Our Turkish Armed Forces; Within the scope of international duties and bilateral relations, it continues to contribute to the establishment of peace and maintenance of stability in a wide geography.
– Our Minister, who accompanied our President during his visit to Kazakhstan between 13-15 May; – On 16 May, he received the Permanent Representatives of our country and the USA to NATO, – On 18 May, he received the Commander of the Pakistan Air Force. – Our Minister, who participated in the Distinguished Observer Day of the Ephesus Exercise today (May 20) and tomorrow (May 21), also holds bilateral meetings with the defense ministers and chiefs of general staff of friendly and allied countries.
Our esteemed Chief of General Staff attended the NATO Military Committee Meeting held in Belgium on 18-19 May. Our Honorable Land Forces Commander, – went to Tashkent between 12-14 May as the official guest of the Uzbekistan Ministry of Defense, held various contacts and meetings, including the Uzbekistan Minister of Defense, – met with the Romanian Land Forces Commander and his accompanying delegation, who came to our country as an official guest on 18 May.
Our esteemed Naval Forces Commander will meet with the Polish Naval Forces Commander and his accompanying delegation in our country on May 22. Our esteemed Air Force Commander hosted the Pakistan Air Force Commander in his office on 18 May. From our Deputy Ministers; – Mr. Musa Heybet attended the Turkey-Belgium Economy Forum organized by the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey in Ankara on 13 May, – The 131st anniversary of the establishment of our General Directorate of Mapping on 15 May, – Mr.
Salih Ayhan; We participated in the Black Sea Defense, Aviation and Maritime Security Fair held in Bucharest/Romania between 13-15 May, and within the scope of the fair; Romania’s Minister of Finance; He held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Economy, Digitalization, Entrepreneurship and Tourism and the Deputy Minister of National Defense. ISRAEL HAS PERFORMED A NEW PIRACY ACTION On the other hand, within the scope of the developments in the Middle East; The “Global Sumud Flotilla”, which was created to show solidarity with the Palestinian people and deliver aid to Gaza, was intervened by Israeli forces in international waters and a new act of piracy was carried out.
Israel must immediately release all participants, including our detained citizens. We reiterate that the international community must assume more responsibility to end this humanitarian tragedy in Gaza and Israel’s unlawful actions. In addition, we emphasize once again the importance of the parties acting prudently and constructively in the ongoing negotiation process between Iran and the USA, and that we will continue to provide all kinds of support to efforts in this direction.
We also welcome the 45-day ceasefire decision between Israel and Lebanon, and we reiterate the need for Israel to act in accordance with the spirit of the ceasefire. NEW WEAPON SYSTEMS ARE IN THE INVENTORY Within the scope of the efforts to further increase the advanced technology equipment and deterrent power of our Turkish Armed Forces, which continues to modernize its defense capabilities with the opportunities offered by our local and national defense industry, our Land Forces Command has supplied various amounts of; – TAYFUN Block-2 Missile for the first time, – Fırtına-2 howitzer, – Akıncı Assault Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (TİHA) and – National Infantry Rifle (MPT-76) inspection and acceptance activities were completed and included in the inventory.
By our Machinery and Chemical Industry Joint Stock Company (MKE) during the week; – The delivery of weapons and ammunition of various sizes and sizes has been completed, – The 7th of the locally and nationally developed National Naval Gun Denizhan has been produced and delivered to be installed on the 10th ship of the MİLGEM Project, after successfully completing the firing acceptance tests. APPLICATIONS FOR THE PAINTING COMPETITION CONTINUE.
Applications for the painting competition titled “My Hero Mehmetçik and the Homeland” for primary and secondary school students, organized in cooperation with our Ministry and the Ministry of National Education, will continue until May 25. Our children; We invite all our students to the competition where they will express their love of homeland, our national values and their devotion to our heroic Mehmetçik through the powerful language of art.
With the Ephesus-2026 Exercise; The high operational capability, joint working ability and strong deterrence of our Turkish Armed Forces have been demonstrated once again; The ability of our land, sea and air elements to carry out tasks in a coordinated manner has been successfully demonstrated. Our Turkish Armed Forces will continue to be the guarantor of regional and global peace and stability, as well as our country’s, with its modern and strong defense and security capacity.
Finally, we congratulate the entire Islamic world, especially our country and the noble Turkish nation, on Eid al-Adha; We wish you healthy and peaceful holidays. PRESS MEMBERS’ QUESTIONS ABOUT THE AGENDA WERE ANSWERED After the Press Information Meeting, the questions of the press members about the agenda were answered. The answers to the questions are as follows: TURKEY’S MILITARY FUEL PIPELINE PROPOSAL TO NATO NATO Fuel Pipeline Project; It is an individual project of a capability package prepared with the aim of strengthening the energy supply of allies on the eastern flank of NATO, using NATO’s Common Funds, and which is currently undergoing approval in NATO.
The project in question is important in terms of reducing the Alliance’s dependence on maritime fuel transportation and increasing NATO’s fuel supply and interoperability, in parallel with the latest developments in the Strait of Hormuz. Our project is 5 times more cost-effective than its alternatives and, if approved, will be put into operation in a much shorter time. If this line is implemented, NATO Common Funds, consisting of contributions invested by the allies, will be used economically and effectively.
CHANGE OF TASK OF PATRIOTS Activities related to the air defense systems deployed in our country are planned in coordination with allied countries and are regularly evaluated within the framework of the current security environment. In addition to the Spanish Patriot air defense system operating in our country, one of the two additional Patriot systems assigned by NATO due to the conflicts between the USA, Israel and Iran will be replaced by Germany.
The change in question is planned to be completed in June, and the relevant system is expected to operate for approximately six months. The process will continue in coordination with allies in line with current security assessments. POSITIVE RELATIONS WITH GERMANY RECENTLY Türkiye; It is an indispensable ally in terms of regional security with its strong and experienced army, effective position within NATO, developing defense industry infrastructure and critically important geopolitical location between Europe, the Black Sea, the Caucasus and the Middle East.
In this context, European countries evaluate our country’s strategic role more strongly in the future of the European security architecture; It seems that it attaches importance to deepening relations in the fields of defence, security and strategic cooperation. PARTICIPATION OF LIBYA AND SYRIA IN THE EFES-2026 EXERCISE In the Ephesus-2026 Exercise hosted by Turkey, a total of 502 personnel, 331 from the east of Libya and 171 from the west, are training jointly with the Turkish Armed Forces.
This process, which was initiated with the support of our country in Flintlock-2026, continues with the participation of the Libyan army in the Ephesus-2026 exercise for the first time outside Libyan territory. To the Libyan military personnel who participated in the exercise under the Libyan flag, as the only Libya; Training is provided in the fields of Boats, Mine/IED, Fortification and Survival, Special Force Operations, SAT/SAS, First Aid and Sanitary Treatment, Amphibious Operations, MEBS and Battle Debris Search and Rescue.
Turkish Armed Forces; It supports the activities carried out in Libya by taking concrete steps towards the goal of “One Libya, One Army”; These studies, carried out with the contributions of Turkey, contribute significantly to the development of coordination and operational harmony between the parties. Likewise; As part of our support to the reconstruction process, the Syrian Army is participating in the Ephesus 2026 Exercise with a core element.
Our training support to the Syrian army, which participated in an exercise outside Syrian territory for the first time, will continue.
Comments
You can write your views about this story. Comments may be moderated according to site settings.