Erdogan vows to increase deterrence capabilities of Turkish Armed Forces
“There cannot be a strong Türkiye without a strong army,” says President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, stressing that the country is already at the “top league” in terms of military capabilities.
Strengthening the Turkish Armed Forces is a must for Türkiye to be a powerful country, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has said.
“Increasing the deterrence of the Turkish Armed Forces constitutes a necessity for our country rather than a choice,” Erdogan said on Wednesday, addressing a graduation ceremony at the Army War College in the capital Ankara.
The president also marked the 101st anniversary of the country’s Victory Day, which the ceremony on August 30 coincided with, marking the defeat of occupying Greek troops against Turkish forces led by Türkiye’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in the Battle of Dumlupinar.
“We know very well from our bitter experiences that there cannot be a strong Türkiye without a strong army,” Erdogan said.
The president stressed that is indispensable to have a strong, modern, and disciplined army with high deterrence.
“We have taken many historical steps that will strengthen our army. We literally wrote an epic in the field of defence industry,” Erdogan said, adding that Türkiye has been elevated to the “top league” in terms of military capabilities.
He emphasised that Türkiye reduced its dependence on foreign defence products from 80 percent to 20 percent, and its export of defence products are expected to cross a six billion dollar mark this year
“Hopefully, we will soon come to the point of selling air defence systems to those who refuse to give us air defence systems on unfounded excuses,” the president said.
Touching on the Türkiye’s indigenous fighter jet KAAN, Erdogan expressed hope that the aircraft will take off before the end of 2023.
