Turkish army: strength, armament, photo

In the 21st century a large number of modern states are striving for peaceful coexistence with other countries. In other words, people are tired of wars. Such a tendency began to gain momentum after the Second World War. This conflict made it clear that the next large-scale clash could endanger not only the foundations of the world, but also the existence of mankind as a whole. Therefore, to date, many armies are used exclusively to organize internal protection against any external aggressors. Nevertheless, local conflicts still occur at certain points of the planet. From this negative factor can not escape. To prevent a full-scale war, some states invest big money in the defense of their country. This helps to create the latest technologies that can be used in the army field of activity. It should be noted that one of the most developed and effective today is the Armed Forces of Turkey. They have a rather interesting history, which causes many traditions of formation existing in his activity to this day. At the same time, the Turkish army is well equipped, as well as divided into component structures that help it to effectively implement all the main tasks.

History of the Armed Forces of Turkey - early period

The Turkish army dates back to the 14th century AD. It should be noted that the armed forces of this period belonged to the Ottoman Empire. The state received its name after the first ruler, Osman I, who conquered several small countries, which necessitated the creation of a monarchical (imperial) form of government. By that time, the Turkish army already had several separate formations, which were used effectively enough in the process of implementing combat missions. What did the Ottoman Armed Forces have in their composition?

1. The army of the seratkuli is an auxiliary force. As a rule, it was created by provincial rulers to protect their possessions. It included infantry and cavalry.
2. The professional state army was the army of the kapikula. There were a lot of units in the formation. The main ones were infantry, artillery, navy and cavalry. Financing of the army of the capical was carried out from the state treasury.
3. The auxiliary forces of the Ottoman army became the army of Toprakla, as well as detachments of soldiers recruiting from the provinces, imposed tribute.

The influence of European culture marked the beginning of a large number of changes in the army. Already in the XIX century, the formation is completely reorganized. This process was conducted using European specialists in the military field. The head of the army became the vizier. At the same time, the janissary corps was liquidated. The basis of the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire at that time was regular cavalry, infantry and artillery. At the same time there were irregular troops, in fact they are a reserve.

The late period of development of the Ottoman army

By the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th century, Turkey was at the peak of its development both in the military and in the economic sphere. In the army began to use aircraft, as well as universal firearms. As for the fleet, the ships, as a rule, the Turkish army ordered in Europe. But due to the difficult political situation within the state in the XX century, the armed forces of the Ottoman Empire cease to exist, because the same state disappears. Instead, the Republic of Turkey appears, which exists to this day.

Sun of Turkey: modernity

In the 21st century, armed forces are a collection of different kinds of state troops. They are intended to protect the country from external aggression, preserve its territorial integrity. Command of the Armed Forces of Turkey is carried out through the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the Ministry of Defense. It should be noted that land forces are of great importance, as will be discussed later. They are second in strength in the NATO bloc. As for the internal coordination of activities, it is implemented through the General Staff. The Commander-in-Chief of the Turkish Army concurrently is the head of the represented body. The General Staff, in turn, is subordinated to the commanders of the corresponding arms of the armed forces.

The size of the Turkish army

By the number of represented in the article formation is one of the largest in the world. The Turkish army has 410,000 personnel. This figure includes the cadre military, relating to all military branches without exception. In addition, the Armed Forces of the Republic of Turkey includes about 185 thousand reservists. Thus, in the event of a full-scale war, the state can assemble a sufficiently strong combat vehicle that will cope well with the tasks assigned to it.

Structure of formation

The strength of the Turkish army depends on many factors, one of which is the structure of the Armed Forces. This feature affects the efficiency and operational use of the Turkish Armed Forces in the event of an unforeseen attack or other negative aspects. It should be noted that the army is organized in a classical way, that is, according to the generally accepted pattern in the world. The structure of the structure includes the following types of troops:

• Land;
• Naval;
• Air.

As we know, this kind of armed forces can be seen in almost all modern states. After all, this kind of system makes it possible to use the army as efficiently as in combat operations, and in peacetime.

What are the land forces of Turkey?

The Turkish army, whose comparison with other Armed Forces and the analysis of combat capability today are produced quite often, is famous for its land forces. This is not surprising, because this kind of troops has a long and interesting history, which has already been mentioned earlier in the article. It should be noted that this structural element of the Armed Forces is a formation that mainly consists of infantry, as well as mechanized units. To date, the strength of the Turkish army, namely the ground forces, is about 391 thousand personnel. Formation is used to defeat enemy forces on land. In addition, some special units of the ground forces carry out reconnaissance and sabotage activities in the rear of the enemy. It should be noted that the relative ethnic homogeneity affects the strength of the Turkish army. Kurds serving in national troops, given the difficult situation in which they are, do not experience any harassment.

Composition of land forces

It should be noted that the Turkish land formations, in turn, are subdivided into smaller groups. Hence it follows that one can talk about the structure of the land forces of the Armed Forces of the country. To date, this element includes the following units:

• Army aviation ;
• infantry;
• artillery;
• Special forces, or "commando".

Of great importance are also tank units. After all, there are a large number of similar military vehicles in the Armed Forces of Turkey.

Armament of land forces

It should be noted that the armament of the Turkish army is at a sufficiently high level in comparison with other states in Europe and the Middle East. As already mentioned, the ground forces are equipped with a large number of tanks. As a rule, these are "Leopards" of a German manufacturer or American military vehicles. Also in the arsenal of Turkey about 4625 thousand units of infantry fighting vehicles. The number of artillery cannons is 6,110 thousand units. If we talk about the personal safety of soldiers, then it is provided at the expense of sufficiently high-quality and practical weapons. As a rule, the soldiers use NK-MP5 submachine guns, SVD sniper rifles, T-12 sniper rifles, Browning large-caliber machine guns, etc.

Turkish Navy

Like other elements of the Armed Forces, the Navy is a fairly significant part, which is entrusted with extremely specific functions. First of all, it should be noted that at this stage of development, the Turkish Republic needs the naval forces more than ever. First, the state has access to the seas, which allows for international trade in large volumes. Secondly, the geopolitical situation in the world today is extremely unstable. Therefore, the naval forces - this is the first stronghold in the way of certain ill-wishers. It should be noted that the Turkish fleet was formed in 1525. In those days, the Ottoman naval forces were truly an invincible unit in a battle on the water. With the help of the fleet, the empire seized and held in fear the territories necessary for it for centuries.

As for the present, today the fleet has not lost its power. On the contrary, the naval forces are developing quite dynamically. The Turkish Navy consists of:

• Directly fleet;
• Marines;
• Naval aviation;
• Special units used in special cases.

Armament of naval forces

Of course, the main strike force of Turkish naval forces is the fleet. Without it, in our time, nowhere. Therefore, when considering weapons, it is necessary to start from such an important system part of the Navy as the fleet. It, in turn, is represented by a large number of different frigates and corvettes, which have greater maneuverability and efficiency. Also quite interesting is the naval aviation of the republic. It includes equipment of both Turkish and foreign production.

Air Force

As for the Turkish air force, they are one of the youngest units, given the glorious history of other military formations that are part of the armed forces. They were created in 1911 and were actively used in the First World War. During the war years, the Turkish army, as we know, was defeated together with other countries of the Triple Alliance. For this and some other reasons, aviation ceases to exist. Its activities were resumed only in 1920. To date, the Air Force of Turkey serves about 60 thousand people. In addition, there are 34 operational military airfields on the territory of the state. The activities of the Turkish Air Force include the following main functions:

• Protection of the country's airspace;
• Defeat of the enemy's manpower and equipment on the ground;
• Defeat of enemy air forces.

Air Force Engineering

As part of the Air Force of Turkey, many aircraft that can perform their tasks as effectively as possible. Thus, today there are a large number of transport and combat aircraft, helicopters, and air defense systems. In this case, fighters, as a rule, are multi-purpose. Anti-aircraft defense is represented by medium and short-range technology. The Turkish Air Force also has a large number of unmanned aerial vehicles.

Turkish army against Russian: comparison

The comparison of the Armed Forces of Turkey and Russia is increasingly being carried out recently. To understand which army is stronger, we must first look at the defense budget and the number of servicemen. For example, Russia spends 84 billion dollars on its troops, while in the Republic of Turkey this figure is only 22.4 billion. As for the number of personnel, we can count on 700 thousand people in the conditions of war. In Turkey, the number of military personnel is only 500 thousand. Of course, there are other factors on the basis of which it is possible to assess the fighting efficiency of the armies of these two countries. So, who is in a more favorable situation, if the Turkish army is against the Russian army? A comparison based on dry statistics shows that the Russian Federation has a more powerful formation than the Republic of Turkey.

Conclusion

So, the author tried to explain what the Turkish army is. It should be noted that the combat power of this formation is strong enough, as in other modern states. Let's hope that we will never have to feel the activity of the Turkish army.