Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy and the Air Force. The Gendarmerie and the Coast Guard, both of which have law enforcement and military functions, operate as components of the internal security forces in peacetime, and are subordinate to the Ministry of Interior. In wartime, they are subordinate to the Army and Navy. The President of Turkey is the military's overall head. The Turkish Armed Forces collectively rank as the second largest standing military force in NATO, after the U.S. Armed Forces, with an estimated strength in 2015 of 639,551 military, civilian and paramilitary personnel. Turkey is one of five NATO member states which are part of the nuclear sharing policy of the alliance, together with Belgium, Germany, Italy, and the Netherlands. A total of 90 B61 nuclear bombs are hosted at the Incirlik Air Base, 40 of which are allocated for use by the Turkish Air Force in case of a nuclear conflict, but their use requires the approval of NATO. According to the International Institute for Strategic Studies (IISS), in 2010 the Turkish Armed Forces had an active strength of around 510,000 personnel. In addition, it was estimated that there were 378,700 reserve personnel and 152,200 paramilitary personnel (Turkish Gendarmerie and Turkish Coast Guard), giving a combined active and reserve strength of around 1,041,900 personnel. In 2010, the defence budget amounted to 26 billion liras. The Law on the Court of Accounts was supposed to initiate external ex-post audits of armed forces' expenditure and pave the way for audits of extra budgetary resources earmarked for the defence sector, including the Defence Industry Support Fund
Turkish
Air Force
Turkish
Land Force
Turkish
Naval Forces
Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri
The Turkish Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Turkish Air Force can trace its origins back to June 1911 when it was founded by the Ottoman Empire, however, the air force as it is known today did not come into existence until 1923 with the creation of the Republic of Turkey.
The Air Force Command was established with the purpose of preventing threats and dangers likely to be received via air against Turkish country and Turkish Nation, and facilitating the way to the success of the duties of Land and Naval Forces during a possible war.
The headquarters of the Turkish Air Force (TURAF) is located in Ankara. The main duty of the Air Force Command is to deter the enemy from its aggressive intention via its arms and means with superior velocity and brisance, to counteract enemy aircraft rapidly as soon as they enter Turkish airspace in case of an attack against the country, to discourage and dishearten from maintaining the war by destroying the vital military targets of the enemy country and to ensure that war is won within the shortest time possible with least casualties.
The personnel affiliated with the Turkish Air Force, excluding civilian personnel, wears blue uniforms.
Until 1961 various eagle figures were used as the symbol of the Turkish Air Force and starting from 1 June 1961, “Seljuk Eagle”, in place of the previously used eagle figures, started to be used as the symbol.
Founded
1911 (Ottoman Aviation Squadrons)
23 April 1920 (Turkish Air Force Branch)
31 January 1944 (Turkish Air Force Command, corps scale)
1 July 1949 (Turkish Air Force Command, army scale)
Size 50,000 personnel, 1,055 aircraft
Anniversaries 1 June
Engagements
War of Independence
Ararat rebellion
Dersim rebellion
Korean War
Battle of Tillyria
Invasion of Cyprus
Operation Provide Comfort
Operation Deliberate Force
Operation Northern Watch
Operation Allied Force
Operation Enduring Freedom
Kurdish–Turkish conflict
Operation Northern Iraq
Operation Sun
Iraq Cross-border Raids
Operation Martyr Yalçın
Turkey–ISIL conflict
Russia–Turkey proxy conflict
Kurdish–Turkish conflict (2015–present)
Operation Euphrates Shield
Operation Olive Branch
Operation Peace Spring
Airborne early warning and control
Equipment
Turkish Air Force
Türk Hava Kuvvetleri