NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2 Returns to Istanbul for Second Visit in 2025. NATO’s Standing Maritime Group 2, led by Italian frigate ITS Carlo Bergamini, arrived in Istanbul for a 3-day visit. The task group includes HMCS St. John’s and TCG Barbaros. 🇮🇹🇨🇦🇹🇷 #NATO #Istanbul

Istanbul welcomes #SNMG2 🇹🇷 🇮🇹 ITS Carlo Bergamini (F-590) 🇨🇦 HMCS St. John’s (FFH-340) NATO @NATO_MARCOM ships drop anchor at the crossroads of Europe and Asia ⚓✨

Lest We Forget: DM-357 TCG Muavenet 1992, tragedy struck during NATO exercise Display Determination: USS Saratoga accidentally launched two missiles at her ally TCG Muavenet, killing five sailors and crippling the ship.

Türkiye has inducted its fourth T-70 utility helicopter into Air Force Command bringing the total number of aircraft delivered under the TUHP to 31. Once envisioned as a cornerstone of Türkiye’s helicopter industry, TUHP has faced delays, sanctions, and shifting operational requirements. In my…

Türkiye’s naval diplomacy in Libya is shifting gears. From hosting Libyan National Army commander Saddam Haftar in Ankara to TCG Kınalıada visiting both Tripoli and Benghazi — Ankara is signaling a bid to bridge rival factions and back a “United Libya.”

The Qatari Navy’s LPD Al Fulk is in Istanbul this week, offering a rare look at one of the most ambitious naval concepts in recent years. Built by Fincantieri, Al Fulk is not just an amphibious ship—it combines helicopter operations, amphibious lift, and a high-end air defense system in a single…

Quo Vadis, Turkish Defence Industry? This is my sixth and final instalment regarding IDEF 2025. I have been attending these defence exhibitions since 1987, when they were still called IDEA and organised in Etimesgut, Ankara. Much has changed since those days. With the benefit of hindsight, I can…

Hürjet to Spain: A Milestone That Demands Caution. Strategic autonomy can vanish fast if national firms are absorbed into multinational giants.

Strengthening the Watch: New National Ships for the Turkish Coast Guard. These new vessels will fill a long-overdue operational gap.

ULAQ Goes Global: Turkey’s Trailblazing USV Brand Enters a New Phase IDEF 2025 Series – Instalment 3 One of the more interesting announcements at IDEF 2025 wasn’t about a new missile or a shiny prototype—it was about branding. The transformation of the ULAQ unmanned surface vessel (USV) program…

Scoring at Sea: Koç Bilgi ve Savunma’s Underwater Precision Tech devrimyaylali.com/2025/08/05/i...

Electro M-60: Breathing Life into a Geriatric Giant devrimyaylali.com/2025/08/04/i...

Today, during the sleepy morning hours of this beautiful summer day, the Romanian frigate ROS Regele Ferdinand passed through Istanbul on her way home, after participating for over 40 days in Operation EUNAVFOR MED IRINI, conducted in the Mediterranean Sea

A Nuclear Future? Turkish Navy Reveals Ambition for Nuclear-Powered Submarines (Part 3) This is the third and final part of my series examining Türkiye’s emerging ambition to build and operate nuclear-powered submarines. In Part 1, I explored why Türkiye wants this capability. Part 2 analyzed what…

A Nuclear Future? Turkish Navy Reveals Ambition for Nuclear-Powered Submarines (Part 2) This is the second part of my series on Türkiye’s newly declared ambition to acquire nuclear-powered submarines. In Part 1, I discussed why Türkiye believes it needs this capability. In this instalment, I…

A Nuclear Future? Turkish Navy Reveals Ambition for Nuclear-Powered Submarines (Part 1) I recently conducted an interview with the Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces, Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu. The two-part interview is being published in Warship International Fleet Review Magazine. To read it…

Lest We Forget: TCG Dumlupınar Seventy-two years ago today, the Turkish Navy suffered its greatest peacetime loss when the submarine TCG Dumlupınar (formerly USS Blower) sank at Nara Point in the Çanakkale Strait. TCG Dumlupınar and her sister boat, TCG 1. İnönü, were returning from a NATO…

Turkish Navy Destroys Unidentified Mine Near Kefken The Turkish Naval EOD teams destroyed another floating mine in the Black Sea today. According to a news release from the Turkish Ministry of National Defence, a mine believed to be from the Russia-Ukraine War was detected off the coast of Kefken…

Gökberk and Alka: Türkiye’s Evolving Laser Defense Systems Today, Aselsan shared new information regarding the tests conducted with Gökberk mobile laser weapon system.  Both Aselsan and Roketsan have significantly advanced laser weapon systems, enhancing defense capabilities against modern threats…

French Warships in Turkish Ports: A Sign of Rapprochement or Strategic Calculations? The French Fremm-class frigate Aquitaine arrived in Antalya this morning for a port visit. I am not a fan of the French Navy’s newly adopted policy of erasing the ships' pennant numbers. While information about…

Turkey’s Role in NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in Washington, D.C., in 1949 by 12 founding members. Turkey became a member of NATO on February 18, 1952. With Finland and Sweden joining NATO in 2023 and 2024, respectively, after abandoning their neutrality…

Analyzing North Korea’s New Warship: Speculations on Design and Capability On 10 January 2025, Joseph H. Dempsey published a detailed analysis on the IISS Military Balance Blog, shedding light on North Korea’s latest naval development. Dempsey’s report highlights the construction of the country’s…

Ankara's naval doctrine is seen by Greece and Israel as a major geopolitical challenge.

The Turkish navy is wrapping up the weeklong Mavi Vatan 2025 exercise this week, a large-scale operation meant to showcase Ankara’s strategic maritime ambitions in the region and beyond. My take on the topic. www.defensenews.com/naval/2025/0...

Mavi Vatan: The Press Day The excitement began early in the morning as we prepared for our flight from Ankara to Dalaman on board a C-72 transport plane of the Turkish Naval Forces. Once we arrived at Aksaz Naval Base were first went on board the frigate TCG Salihreis for the weekly press…

Advent Martı Command and Control System Integrated Into Turkish Coast Guard Aircraft Havelsan announced yesterday that it has successfully integrated its Advent Martı Command and Control System into the TCSG-553 aircraft of the Turkish Coast Guard Command. The TCSG-553 was originally equipped with…

Mavi Vatan-2025: A Closer Look at Turkey’s Largest Naval Training Exercise The Turkish Navy is gearing up for its flagship exercise, Mavi Vatan-2025, an ambitious training operation designed to test its capabilities in challenging scenarios and foster interoperability across military branches.…

My first story of 2025! Enjoy reading. www.defensenews.com/global/europ...

Mutlu Yıllar! / Happy New Year!

Dearsan Shipyard is starting the production of the two attack craft for the Qarar Emiri Naval Forces.

STM signed a contract with Portugese Naval Forces for the construction of 2 AOR and logistic support ship. The construction will start in 2025 and ships will be delivered in 2028. This is the first export to an European Navy for STM and Turkish naval shipbuilders.

⚓ Strengthening NATO’s naval presence! 🔹 Dec 3, 2024: Turkish Navy takes charge of NATO SNMG-2. 🔹 Dec 16, 2024: Command of NATO SNMCMG-2 assumed for the 7th time. ➡️ 50% of NATO MARCOM’s task forces are now under 🇹🇷 Turkey's command. #NATO #SNMG2 #SNMCMG2 #StrongerTogether #WeAreNATO

Command change ceremony for the SNMCMG-2. Turkish Navy is taking the helm from Romania. #StrongerTogether #WeareNATO

Post-Assad, a key question for Syria's future: What happens to the Captagon trade? What will be done with the existing stock? Will production continue? Who will control it? Giving up the income from drug trafficking is not something just anyone can manage.

War in the Black Sea Forces Dutch Navy to Redefine HNLMS Den Helder’s Trials http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/11/25/war-in-the-black-sea-forces-dutch-navy-to-redefine-hnlms-den-helders-trials/

Pioneering the Depths Part 3: Turkey’s Indigenous Submarine Ambitions The MILDEN project marks the third and most ambitious phase in Turkey’s submarine strategy, focusing on developing an… http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/11/17/pioneering-the-depths-part-3-turkeys-indigenous-submarine-ambitions/

Wait, where’d I put the key?’

Pioneering the Depths Part 2: Turkey’s Small Manned Submarine Projects Turkey’s exploration of small manned submarines represents the second key area of its underwater projects. These… http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/11/13/pioneering-the-depths-part-2-turkeys-small-manned-submarine-projects/

Pioneering the Depths: Turkey’s Unmanned Autonomous Systems Turkey’s ambitious submarine development program underscores its commitment to achieving naval self-sufficiency and advancing technological… http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/11/09/pioneering-the-depths-turkeys-unmanned-autonomous-systems/

The Mavi Balina-24 Invitation Exercise Started The Mavi Balina-24 Invitation Exercise is a biennial anti-submarine warfare invitation exercise hosted by Turkey. This year, it will take place in the Eastern… http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/11/07/the-mavi-balina-24-invitation-exercise-started/

Latest in Drone Defense and EW Pods Target Evolving Threats As demand for resilient anti-drone and electronic warfare systems grows, Aselsan’s latest technology unveiled at SAHA EXPO 2024 is set to… http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/11/04/latest-in-drone-defense-and-ew-pods-target-evolving-threats/

Romanian Warship Embarks On NATO Mission On October 31, the frigate  ROS Regele Ferdinand departed from the military port of Constanta to participate in NATO’s Sea Guardian operation in the Mediterranean Sea, running… http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/11/03/romanian-warship-embarks-on-nato-mission/

Minister Yaşar Güler Visits Naval Command in Qatar Earlier this week, Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler visited the Naval Command in Qatar and addressed the sailors. He highlighted the critical global… http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/11/02/minister-yasar-guler-visits-naval-command-in-qatar/

TCG Anadolu Participates in Neptune Strike According to JFC Brunssum Public Affairs Office, NATO’s NEPTUNE STRIKE (NEST) 24-2, part of its enhanced Vigilance Activities running from October 24-31, underscores NATO's… http://devrimyaylali.com/2024/10/30/tcg-anadolu-participates-in-neptune-strike/

Bluesky now has over 10 million users, and I was #645.289!

My take with Tayfun Özberk on the first flight of Kaan the indigenous fighter plane developed in Turkey. www.defensenews.com/global/europ...

Today we are looking into the use of expendable drones in the Black Sea in this week-long blog series, where I explore the significant naval developments that shaped the maritime landscape in 2023 from my point of view. wp.me/p1sJIb-35M

In this week-long blog series, I will explore the significant naval developments that shaped the maritime landscape in 2023 from my point of view. Today: How Ukraine reduced the Russian Black Sea Fleet into a "fleet in being." turkishnavy.net/2024/01/02/a...

Embark on a journey with me as we set sail through the tumultuous tides of 2023. In this week-long blog series, I will try exploring the significant naval developments that shaped the maritime landscape from my point of view. turkishnavy.net/2024/01/01/a...