Türkiye on Wednesday marked the 74th anniversary of its NATO membership, with statements from the National Defence Ministry and the Communications Directorate emphasising the country’s leading role within the alliance.
In a post on the Turkish social media platform NSosyal shared under the title “74 years in NATO. Respected ally for world peace”, the National Defence Ministry said Türkiye has continued to make significant contributions to NATO since becoming a member on February 18, 1952.
“As a country with NATO’s second-largest army, Türkiye ranks among the top five contributors to NATO through the support it provides to operations and missions,” the ministry said, adding that Türkiye will continue to make important contributions as a strong and reliable member of the alliance.
The Communications Directorate also highlighted Türkiye’s longstanding commitment to peace, stability and collective defence within NATO for 74 years.
“Our country, with its strategic location, strong army and experience in crisis management, plays a critical role in ensuring deterrence within NATO, combating terrorism and safeguarding regional security,” the directorate said.
Under the leadership of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Türkiye will continue contributing to NATO’s 2030 vision and strengthening collective security with its evolving defence technologies, cybersecurity capacity and capabilities against next-generation threats, it added.
First use of Turkish combat drones in NATO's largest exercise
Meanwhile, Türkiye, for the first time, used combat drones within the framework of an amphibious landing operation scenario during NATO's largest exercise of the year, Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercument Tatlioglu said on Wednesday.
For the first time, unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) were used within the framework of an amphibious landing operation scenario during the NATO Steadfast Dart 2026 exercise, Tatlioglu said at a press conference during the maritime phase of NATO Steadfast Dart 2026, hosted by Germany at the Putlos training and exercise area.
Tatlioglu observed the exercise, together with German Defence Minister Boris Pistorius, Chief of the German General Staff Carsten Breuer, and Commander of NATO's Joint Force Command Brunssum General Ingo Gerhartz.
Mentioning that Steadfast Dart 2026 is NATO's largest exercise of the year with the participation of more than 10,000 personnel, Tatlioglu said: "Within the scope of Steadfast Dart 26, the Turkish Naval Forces have deployed the Anadolu Turkish Naval Task Group, consisting of approximately 1,500 personnel and possessing multi-purpose operational capability, to the Baltic Sea."
He added that the Anadolu Turkish Naval Task Group includes the multi-purpose amphibious ship TCG Anadolu, the logistics support and combat support ship TCG Derya, the first domestically produced frigate TCG Istanbul, the first frigate modernised with national capabilities TCG Orucreis, an amphibious marine battalion, amphibious landing vehicles, attack and utility helicopters and Bayraktar TB-3 UCAV systems.
Emphasising that the exercise holds two important aspects for them, he said: "First, the Turkish Naval Forces are demonstrating a power projection capability at this scale and level within the allied framework. For the first time in an amphibious operation, we are using our UCAVs to soften the landing zone."
