July 29, 2026:
In the last few years, the Turkish arms industry has been very productive. New systems include the Tufan naval surface attack drone. The Anka 3 fixed-wing reconnaissance and surveillance drone is now in service. The Pamir 4x4 light tactical armored vehicle is used for reconnaissance, rapid response, and Special Operations forces. The Palem is a ground-transport drone. It can carry troops, cargo, and, like similar vehicles in Ukraine, be armed with various weapons. Turkey is also developing hypersonic missiles, as are most other major military powers. These are used frequently by the Russians to hit Ukrainian economic targets and populated areas. Turkey is also developing Kizilelma, an unmanned jet fighter. Turkey finally brought its Altay tank into service to compete with the American M-1 and the German Leopard 2. Turkey also introduced Kaplan, a tracked autonomous combat vehicle that can be equipped with a variety of weapons, including upcoming laser systems to counter drones.
Then there was the 2024 electoral defeat of President Erdogan’s AKP Party. Turkey’s three major cities, Istanbul, Ankara, and Izmir, are now under the firm political control of the CHP Party, originally established by Kemal Ataturk, the founder of modern Turkey in the 1920s. Moreover, the AKP lost the total popular vote for the first time since 2002. The CHP received 37.8 percent of the overall vote, the AKP 35.5 percent. Erdogan’s chronic economic mismanagement is a key reason. On March 21, Turkey’s central bank unexpectedly raised interest rates to 50 percent. During the first week of April, Erdogan’s government acknowledged inflation for March 2024 was 68.5 percent. In February it was 67.1 percent.
For years, Erdogan has argued that raising interest rates increases inflation. Of course, his theory is dead wrong. The electorate initially overlooked Erdogan’s mishandling of the 2023 earthquakes, but his government has failed to complete the massive—and quick—new housing construction he personally promised. The CHP’s Ekrem Imamoglu won re-election as mayor of Istanbul with 51.1 percent of the vote. His AKP opponent received 39.6 percent. For the record, Istanbul has 16 million of Turkey’s 83 million people and contributes about 32 percent of Turkey’s GDP. Imamoglu is already a national political figure, and his victory makes him Erdogan’s most potent rival. In the capital, Ankara, the CHP candidate defeated the AKP by 29 percentage points. This was a huge victory in Turkey’s capital and second largest city. In Izmir, the third largest city, the CHP candidate won 49 percent to 37 percent. What to make of it? Erdogan has no one to blame but himself. He created a powerful executive presidency and undermined the power of Turkey’s high courts.
President Erdogan expects NATO's next secretary-general to give Turkey’s terror-related security concerns a high priority. This announcement came after Erdogan concluded a meeting with Mark Rutte, the outgoing Dutch prime minister and a candidate for the NATO secretary-general job.
Last week the Istanbul Naval Shipyard briefed the media on the Turkish Navy’s future aircraft carrier project. The government had previously announced the carrier project is a completely indigenous Turkish program with a Turkish designer, Turkish engineering, and Turkish domestic construction. The ship will be 285 meters long and have a displacement of around 60,000 tons. The Navy currently plans to fly 50 aircraft from the ship, a mix of manned and drone aircraft. The manned aircraft could be a navalized version of the Turkish-made Hurjet light attack aircraft, but only if a catapult is added to the carrier. The Navy originally wanted to acquire F-35B/STOVL jump jets, but America kicked Turkey out of the entire F-35 program after Turkey acquired Russian S-400 missiles.
On the 22nd, Erdogan announced that Iraq had agreed to cooperate with Turkey to fight PKK Kurdish rebels. Erdogan was visiting Iraq and meeting with the Iraqi leader. Both men discussed security issues, including the PKK, and agreed to take joint steps to improve border security. This was another way of saying Iraq would try to keep the PKK out of Iraq. They also discussed several bilateral economic issues, including a new economic trade corridor called The Development Road. The corridor would connect Arab and Persian Gulf countries to Turkey via Iraq. Erdogan and Sudani also discussed water issues. Iraqis worry that Turkey’s dams on the Tigris and Euphrates Rivers will restrict the amount of water Iraq receives, which violates their downstream water rights. In the 1980s, Turkey began constructing a series of large power dams on the headwaters of these rivers. The dams were part of the Southeastern Anatolia Project. Sudani said that Turkey and Iraq had reached a ten-year agreement on managing water resources that recognized Iraq’s needs. Turkey and Iraq signed 20 memorandums of understanding. Erdogan’s trip to Baghdad was the first visit to Iraq by a senior Turkish official since 2011.
Turkey’s Scientific and Technological Research Council announced it has begun low-rate production of two domestically developed air-to-air missiles, the Gokdogan and the Bozdogan. Initially, 25 of each will be produced. The missiles will be carried by Turkish F-16’s.
The Turkish Ada-class corvette TCG Kinaliada is en route to a five-month-long deployment in East Asia. The ship left Turkey on April 8 and is en route to Japan to mark the 100th anniversary of Turkish-Japanese diplomatic relations. The vessel will visit several other countries in East Asia.
Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel continue to deteriorate. Since the beginning of April, both nations have slapped trade barriers on each other. Turkey said it is restricting exports of 54 product types to Israel, including steel, aluminum, aviation fuel, and chemical fertilizers. On April 8, Israel told Turkey that Turkish military transport planes could not participate in a humanitarian air airdrop over Gaza.
Turkey has also joined its NATO allies and suspended its participation in the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. The agreement imposed limits on conventional military equipment in Europe. It was supposed to be a post-Cold War confidence-building measure. Russia withdrew from the agreement in 2023.
The government’s High Electoral Board restored the right of Abdullah Zeydan to be the new mayor for the city of Van in eastern Turkey. Zeydan belongs to the pro-Kurd DEM Party. He won the election on March 31st, but on April 2nd a regional election board refused to recognize his victory and replaced him with the man he had defeated, who was a member of Erdogan’s AKP Party. A national outcry erupted. The High Electoral Board overruled the regional electoral board’s decision. Zeydan won 55 percent of the vote, the AKP candidate 27 percent.
Turkish media describe President Erdogan as stunned at the results of the March 31 municipal elections. The CHP retained control of both Istanbul and Ankara. The pro-Kurd DEM won several municipalities in southeastern Turkey.
Last month, Turkish security personnel announced the arrest of two suspected Israeli spies. Six other people were detained in the police and intelligence operation. (Austin Bay)