“The international community remains inadequate in stopping Israel’s brutal massacres and inhumane practices against the Palestinian people, as well as its threats to the sovereignty of regional states and the chaos it has created,” he said, expressing hope that the coming year will bring peace to Palestine and regional stability.
Akturk said the TSK continues uninterrupted training and exercises to maintain high readiness in a complex threat environment.
He noted the successful completion of the Türkiye-Pakistan Ayyildiz Exercise held in Istanbul from December 15-26, involving SAT teams and Pakistan’s Iqbal teams.
Within NATO Assurance Measures, a Turkish Airborne Early Warning and Control (AWAC) aircraft conducted a mission in Romanian airspace on December 30. He also announced a ceremonial F-16 flyover on January 4 in Sarikamis/Kars to mark the 111th anniversary of the Sarikamis Operation.
Akturk said efforts to strengthen the TSK’s modern and effective defence capacity through domestic and national defence industry products continue.
He said the Land Forces Command inducted modernised M60T tanks, KARAOK anti-tank systems, HİSAR-A air defence systems and MILKED electronic support assets following inspection and acceptance.
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He added that MKE delivered various weapons and ammunition, while the BALKIN 130mm countermeasure munition is ready for serial production. The Air Forces Command inducted the seventh T-70 helicopter under the utility helicopter project, along with precision guidance kits, laser guidance kits, and electronic warfare pods.
Looking ahead to 2026, Akturk said work will continue on a wide range of systems, including the Steel Dome multi-layer air defence system, unmanned combat aircraft Kizilelma and ANKA-3, unmanned land, sea and air platforms, missiles, electronic warfare systems, and major naval projects such as the TF-2000 air defence destroyer, the national submarine, and the national aircraft carrier, with 39 ships being built simultaneously.
He also highlighted plans to enhance AI-supported command and control, cyber defence, autonomous systems, and big data-based decision-support infrastructure to boost deterrence further.
On F-35 procurement, the ministry said efforts continue until the national fighter KAAN enters service.
“If (the US) CAATSA sanctions are lifted, we assess that defence cooperation with the US would gain momentum. Work continues lifting the sanctions and F-35 procurement,” it said.
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