The Distinguished Guest Day of the Blue Homeland military exercise was held on Thursday in Aksaz, a naval base in southwestern Türkiye. National Defense Minister Yaşar Güler inspected units participating in the exercise.
The exercise began on Jan. 7 and will end on Jan. 16. Throughout the annual drill, naval forces will perform maneuvers in the Aegean, Eastern Mediterranean and Black Seas.
In the early hours of Thursday morning, frigates departed from the base in the Marmaris district of Muğla, a popular vacation destination that also happens to be located in close proximity to the Greek island of Rhodes, whose maritime border claims in the Aegean often clashes with Türkiye.
TCG Oruçreis, a Barbaros-class frigate and one of the highlights of Turkish naval forces, was among them. It fired a 19-gun salute toward the frigate boarded by Güler and commanders of the army. In the second stage of Thursday’s exercise, Underwater Defense Teams (SAS), an elite unit of the navy, performed an exercise to disable a naval mine after landing on a patch of water by helicopter. Later, helicopters bombarded the coast of an island before landing by troops on swift boats in another scenario. In this scenario, Underwater Offense Teams (SAT), a special operations force of the navy, took over the Yılancık island near Marmaris, erecting a Turkish flag. They were later extracted from the sea by helicopters and successfully rappelled down to TCG Göksu frigate and secured the vessel.
TCG Burgaz and TCG Büyükada corvettes performed a supply mission in Thursday’s drills.
The exercise was participated in by 90 naval vessels, 50 aerial vehicles and 20,000 military personnel. It includes conventional scenarios and electronic warfare training through a locally-made Pelikan Electronic Warfare Simulator.
The exercise, which returned from a two-year hiatus, has already made waves in the media of neighboring Greece. Greek media viewed it as a show of force, especially in the Aegean Sea.
“Blue Homeland” is also the name of a doctrine conceived by two former Turkish naval officers. The doctrine encompasses Türkiye’s maritime jurisdictions, exclusive economic zone and continental shelf, which align with United Nations resolutions.
Ankara and Athens seek to improve relations after years of hostilities, but maritime jurisdictions remain a thorny issue. Countries that came close to an all-out war in the 1990s over the Aegean Sea remain vigilant, with Türkiye concentrating on developing a domestic defense industry. Greece relies on foreign partners to boost its defenses.
Türkiye boasts a rapidly flourishing defense industry, especially in terms of the uncrewed aerial vehicles (UAVs) it owns and exports. In the Blue Homeland exercise, 28 armed UAVs will showcase their abilities, in addition to some locally-made ships, seven submarines, seven uncrewed naval vehicles, 31 military jets and 17 helicopters.
Embracing the doctrine of being effective and powerful at sea as its predecessor, the Ottomans once were, the Republic of Türkiye in the past two decades has developed an independent defense industry capable of operating in open waters, thereby shifting geopolitical balances in its favor. The navy plays a critical role in ensuring the security of maritime trade routes in the Eastern Mediterranean, the Black Sea and the Aegean Sea, promoting regional stability. In the past two decades, Türkiye has reached a milestone by designing and producing its own warships. The TCG Heybeliada, the first indigenous corvette, was commissioned in 2011, followed by projects for indigenous frigates and destroyers. The ADVENT combat management system, developed domestically, represents a significant achievement, enhancing the capabilities of the Turkish navy.
Last August, the country commissioned its first of six planned Reis-class submarines. The project for the Piri Reis submarine, the first of its class, was launched in 2019. It has a length of 68.35 meters (224.25 feet) and a capacity of 40 personnel. Türkiye plans to commission two submarines over the next two years, the Hızır Reis in 2025 and Murat Reis in 2026.