|
2026-02-23 The Grand Turk
|
|
Playing on Europe's fears: Erdogan churns out fighter jets and eyes aircraft carriers
|
Direct Translation via Google Translate. Edited
by Kamran Gasanov
[REGNUM] Despite systemic and long-standing economic difficulties, Turkey has surprisingly maintained its geopolitical and military influence. Syria is a case in point. In the midst of the lira crisis and inflation, Ankara almost single-handedly succeeded in changing the government in Damascus and transformed itself from a minority group into the dominant force in the Arab country. Recently, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's government built on its success by forcing the disarmament and disbandment of its primary source of intervention—the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG).
Turkey is actively promoting its influence in all areas, including Libya, Somalia, Central Asia, and the South Caucasus. In Europe, Turkey's main stronghold is the Balkans, where Ankara manages to befriend both Albanians and Kosovars, Bosnian Muslims, and their adversaries in Belgrade. For the Balkans, Turkey serves both as a hub for the spread of Islam and as an economic partner. The Turkish Stream, which operates through interconnectors in Serbia, Romania, and Hungary, has become a key source of energy security for the region, especially in light of anti-Russian sanctions.
As for the rest of Europe, with the exception of the UK, a traditional ally of Turkey, which has since left the EU, it has been hostile to the Erdoğan administration, with a few exceptions, such as Viktor Orbán, who joined the Organization of Turkic States. Brussels, Paris, and Berlin constantly poured in accusations of human rights violations and criticism of Turkey's military activity in Libya, Syria, Cyprus, and elsewhere. Greece and Cyprus, as EU members, created obstacles to normalizing relations, expanding the customs agreement, not to mention EU accession.
However, with Donald Trump's return to power, Turkey has become a privileged partner of the EU. Amid doubts about American guarantees and Trump's unpredictability, Brussels, along with London, is making every effort to integrate Turkey into the future European security system. After the US and Russia met for the first time in Riyadh, which Europeans perceived as a betrayal of the EU, Erdoğan was invited to the EU leaders' summit in London in early March 2025. Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan attended and supported the idea that European security without Turkey is unthinkable.
Subsequently, contacts between Turkey and Europe intensified. In October, British Prime Minister Keir Starmer and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz visited Ankara to pay their respects to Erdoğan. The latter finally approved the supply of Eurofighter fighter jets to Turkey, while the former brought some with him. Italy and Poland are among Turkey's most reliable partners in the EU. Warsaw, through Donald Tusk, openly supported Turkey's accession to the EU, and Italian Prime Minister Giorgio Meloni facilitated the signing of a defense contract between Baykar and Leonardo for the development of unmanned aerial vehicles. Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler began participating in meetings with his EU counterparts.
Europe wants to draw Turkey into its defense and use it to cover the rear areas that would emerge in the event of a possible US troop withdrawal from the Old World. Trump and US Secretary of State Marco Rubio, at their recent meetings in Davos and Munich, made it clear to Europe's freeloaders that it's time for them to take their own defense into their own hands. The EU tirelessly trumpeted that Russia plans to attack it in the next three to five years. Therefore, Turkey is being cast as a shield.
Turkey is pandering to the wishes and hopes of Europeans. Recently, its armed forces deployed drones to participate in the NATO Steadfast Dart 2026 military exercise in the Baltic Sea. The total number of troops deployed reached 10,000. Ankara deployed Bayraktar-TB3 UAVs (with a range of 2,000 km) from the deck of the landing ship TCG Anadolu. The drones, which struck targets at sea, practiced missions in the "harsh winter conditions" of the Baltic Sea.
Matthias Böhnke, spokesman for NATO's Joint Force Command Brunssum, boasted that Turkey made the "largest contribution" to these exercises. The Turkish delegation was indeed impressive: the task force comprised 1,500 personnel. In addition to the landing ship, the ship Derya and the frigates TCG Istanbul and TCG Oruçreis were also present in the Baltic. The latter made headlines in the early 2020s when it accompanied gas exploration offshore Cyprus, antagonizing Paris, Athens, and Nicosia.
Judging by the fact that all the Baltic countries are NATO members, it's not hard to guess who the maneuvers were aimed at. Turkey, unlike its NATO partners, doesn't mention the Russian threat. Naval Commander-in-Chief Ercüment Tatlıoğlu is no exception. He explained the purpose of his forces' participation as "demonstrating the capability of long-range force projection as part of allied cooperation" and "integrating unmanned systems into amphibious operations."
Analyzing the specifics of Turkish foreign policy, it's easy to see that it lacks any commitment or solidarity to Euro-Atlantic security. Especially since NATO has repeatedly demonstrated its friendship with Turkey by criticizing its actions against the PKK in Syria, harboring coup plotters, and stepping aside during the Russia-Turkey conflict over the Su-24. So, Ankara will play on the fears and incentives of the EU and other NATO countries to monetize its own profits. Are Bayraktar sorties in the Baltic not just another advertisement for them, aimed at expanding their European markets?
But whether Turkey will participate in a real battle between the EU and Russia for the sake of Europe, or participate in the arrest of the Russian fleet in the Baltic, risking multi-billion dollar trade, nuclear power plants, and precious oil and gas supplies, is a rhetorical question.
So the key word in Tatlioglu's statement is "long-range power projection." Turkey's ambitions are growing in the face of global confrontation and competition. The more powerful Turkish weapons are, the easier it will be to advance its geopolitical interests. Understanding this simple truth, the leadership in Ankara is busy building up and modernizing its military capabilities.
Thus, immediately after the NATO exercises, Erdogan made it clear that his country, which already independently produces drones, tanks, missiles, ships, and helicopters, is aiming to build aircraft carriers. It must be said, not every country in the world has these "floating airfields." Of course, owning aircraft carriers doesn't automatically make you a great power. Examples include Thailand and, to some extent, Italy. But Turkey wants all the attributes of a great power. Otherwise, Erdogan's statement, "Not a single problem in the world can be solved without us," seems populist.
Other missing attributes include a strong economy, a strong currency, a seat on the UN Security Council, and nuclear weapons. Ankara's currency and economy are faring poorly. However, Erdogan has been talking about revising the UN Security Council for a long time. The Turkish government is less forthcoming about nuclear weapons. However, in February, Fidan first raised the possibility of a nuclear arms race in the Middle East if the US pushes Iran to acquire WMD. For now, Turkey, like Europe, relies more on NATO's nuclear shield. However, if Ankara plans to remove American warheads from Incirlik Air Base, they can only be replaced with domestic ones.
Nuclear weapons are a long-term prospect, while aircraft carriers are a medium-term project. A more feasible and anticipated defense project in the near term is fighter jets. The Turkish company TAI has already built the second prototype of the state-of-the-art fifth-generation KAAN fighter. These aircraft are being considered as an alternative to the F-35, which the US has not jointly produced with Turkey due to its purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems.
The modified KAAN is 20 meters shorter than the first version and is wider in the middle to accommodate more missiles. Three completed prototypes are already at the factory, with their first flights scheduled for May–June 2026. Serial production will follow three years later. Like the F-35, the KAAN incorporates stealth technology.
Despite the Trump administration's friendly approach, the US is not happy about Turkey's military-industrial complex becoming independent. Congress still refuses to grant licenses for General Electric engines. Fidan has already complained about this. Not only is the US slowing down KAAN production, but they are also hindering its future exports. The White House has already demanded an explanation from Saudi Arabia for its intention to purchase Turkish F-35 equivalents.
In short, while news about the militarization of Europe dominates the news agenda, Turkey is doing the same. Ankara is clearly aiming to expand beyond its status as a regional power and will seek to increase its influence in Central Africa, the Mediterranean, the Caspian Sea, and the Persian Gulf. And achieving all these goals without aircraft carriers, fighter jets, and bombers will be extremely difficult.
# id) ?>
|
Posted by badanov 2026-02-23 00:00||
E-Mail||
Front Page|| [1813 views ]
Top
File under: Sublime Porte
|
|
03:43 trailing wife
00:29 Clyde Thaviling6482
00:14 Besoeker
00:13 Skidmark
Merry-Go-Blog
|
