EFES-2024 Exercise successfully completed

The distinguished observer day of the exercise held on Thursday at the Doğanbey Firing Range in the Seferihisar district was conducted with the participation of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler, and Chief of the General Staff General Metin Gürak. The distinguished observer day was also attended by Chiefs of General Staff from friendly and allied countries, including General Zakir Hasanov, Minister of Defense of Azerbaijan; Zukan Helez, Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Defense of Bosnia and Herzegovina; Nicalou Dos Santos, Minister of Defense of Guinea-Bissau; Charles Richard Mondjo, Minister of Defense of Congo; Abdulkadir Muhammed Nur, Minister of Defense of Somalia; Stergomena Lawrence Tax, Minister of Defense and National Service of Tanzania; Jakob Marksons Oboth, Minister of Defense and Veteran Affairs of Uganda; and Sering Modou Njie, Minister of Defense of The Gambia. After the execution of the first amphibious assault wave last night, today, amphibious assault exercises were also conducted in two waves. As part of the air assault operation, 4 Atak, 4 Cougar, 4 Sikorsky, and 2 CH-47 Chinook helicopters were deployed. The Sikorsky helicopters transported the domestically produced 105mm BORAN howitzer by MKE, while the CH-47 heavy-lift helicopters carried ammunition containers. In the exercise, F-16 aircraft from the Turkish Air Force and Eurofighter Typhoon aircraft from the Qatar Air Force conducted airstrikes on designated targets. For the first time participating in EFES-2024, the ZAHA (Armored Amphibious Assault Vehicle) units, disembarked from TCG Anadolu, conducted beach landings. Helicopters taking off from TCG Anadolu, TCG Bayraktar, and TCG Sancaktar, along with boats deployed at sea, conducted boat operations with the participation of troops from the United States, Azerbaijan, Albania, Bosnia and Herzegovina, United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Libya, and Saudi Arabia. In the scenario where an enemy submarine was detected during the exercise, 3 Sikorsky helicopters approached the sea surface and submerged sonar devices to precisely locate its position. Additionally, a maritime patrol aircraft launched a training torpedo to neutralize the submarine. In the exercise where enemy targets were struck with howitzers, MAGAS-A rockets were fired to clear vehicle passages through the mined area for the participating units in the landing. While artillery fire continued to support the amphibious operation, snipers successfully conducted accurate shots from 600 meters away using the Bora sniper rifle. Diver combat teams also identified and neutralized the detected mines with autonomous underwater devices. Within the scope of the exercise, all targets were struck with artillery, mortar, rocket, and cannon fire through the simultaneous and coordinated movements of reconnaissance, surveillance, fire, and fire support elements along with attack helicopters. As part of the exercise, search and rescue operations and evacuations were also conducted. A Sikorsky helicopter taking off from TCG Anadolu evacuated an injured personnel at sea to a mobile field hospital as per the scenario. During the beaching operation of the landing ships in the exercise, Akıncı UAVs (Unmanned Aerial Vehicles), taking off from their base in Çorlu, provided support to the operation with precise hits. In the urban warfare section, after the tanks entered the field, SIHAs (Unmanned Combat Aerial Vehicles) launched attacks from TB2s. The identified enemy armored vehicles were targeted and struck with anti-tank missiles. The exercise concluded with the execution of the scenario's convergence operation. In commemoration of the 50th anniversary of the Cyprus Peace Operation, a passage of 50 ships was conducted by the Naval Forces Command to salute President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The passage was accompanied by the Italian frigate Durand de la Penne and the Libyan corvette Shafak. Various weapons and systems such as the next-generation Fırtına-2 and Boran Howitzers, PARS OMTAS wheeled vehicle with turret, vehicle-mounted mine detection system, KARGU loitering munition system, BAHA unmanned aerial vehicle, TOGAN autonomous rotary-wing reconnaissance UAV system, fusion weapon night vision goggles, MILKAR assault systems, C-70 thermal weapon sight, E-60 thermal weapon scope, A-960 daytime sight, A-600 night vision goggles, weapon detection radar, SERHAT and ACAR radar systems, İHTAR system, inflatable decoy tank and systems, helicopter aerial evacuation platform, MIKON micro kamikaze drone, BOYGA rotary-wing UAV carrying mortar ammunition, MX-908 explosive substance detection device, URGAN IP camera system, CADEX sniper rifle, and NIGHT FORCE ATACR weapon-mounted optical scope were utilized in various ways and for the first time in a live-fire exercise.