The next round of tension in the Middle East is taking place with the active participation of the Turkish Air Force. This branch of the military provides reconnaissance, strikes against ground targets and the performance of some other tasks. Consider the structure, strength and potential of the Turkish Air Force.
Bases and parts
According to open data, at present, the Turkish Air Force is serving approx. 50 thousand people, including civilian personnel. There are 15 air bases in operation, evenly distributed throughout the country. All this makes it possible to involve any parts in the work in the entire airspace of Turkey and in the surrounding regions. In particular, the possibility of active work in the northern parts of Syria has been ensured.
The Air Force has several commands responsible for different areas of activity. The combat command has almost three dozen squadrons for various purposes, incl. several temporarily inactive. The Combat Command is responsible for tactical aviation, UAVs and air defense. The training command manages the work of 6 squadrons and several schools that train personnel. Under the jurisdiction of the transport command - approx. 10 parts and organizations.
Active fighter-bomber aviation is now represented by 9 squadrons on different types of vehicles. There are two tactical reconnaissance squadrons; an AWACS squadron was formed. Auxiliary tasks are performed by one squadron of tanker aircraft and one search and rescue service. The air defense of the Air Force includes up to 8-10 divisions, excluding the newest S-400 air defense systems.
Material part
The basis of the tactical aviation of the Turkish Air Force is the F-16C / D fighter-bombers of several modifications. In total, there are more than 240 such aircraft, but only 158 are assigned to combat units. The rest are operated by training squadrons. The second type of combat aircraft is the F-4E, up to 48 units. Turkey has no other fighters. In the future, it was planned to purchase a significant number of modern F-35s, but these deliveries were disrupted for political reasons.
Combat aviation should be supported by 4 Boeint 737 AEW & C AWACS aircraft, 7 Boeing KC-135R tankers and 1 Transall C-160 with electronic warfare equipment. Reconnaissance tasks over land and sea are solved by 2 CASA CN-235 patrolmen. There is an order for 4 Bombardier Global 6000 aircraft in reconnaissance configuration.
The Turkish Air Force has a fairly well-developed military transport aviation. It is based on 41 CN-235 aircraft. There are also 16 Lockheed C-130B / E aircraft. The delivery of Airbus A400M transporters continues. The customer has already received 9 out of 10 ordered vehicles. The helicopter fleet of transport aviation is represented by Bell UH-1H (57 units) and Eurocopter AS332 (21 units). In the near future, delivery of 6 Sikorsky T-70 helicopters manufactured under an American license is expected.
In the units of the training command there are a lot of different equipment of a number of types. The most massive samples are F-16C / D fighters in the amount of 87 units. 68 Northrop T-38 Talon aircraft and 23 units remain in service. Canadair NF-5A / B. KAI KT-1 and SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 aircraft play an important role in training - 40 and 35 units. respectively. It is planned to update the fleet of training vehicles. For this, orders have been placed for TAI Hürkuş aircraft of our own design and for Pakistani PAC MFI-17 Mushshak. TAI has already delivered the first machine of its assembly to the customer.
The Turkish Air Force is actively developing the direction of unmanned aerial vehicles. In service there are reconnaissance UAVs and vehicles with shock capabilities. The bulk of this park is made up of reconnaissance vehicles. These are Bayraktar Mini (up to 140 units), Vestel Karayel and Malazgirt (less than 10 units each) of Turkish production, as well as Israeli IAI Heron (up to 10 units).
The drone UAV fleet includes about a hundred Bayraktar TB2 products and no more than 15-16 TAI ANKA vehicles. The supply of such equipment continues. Such drones are actively used by the air force in the skies over hot spots, which leads to losses. The last such incident took place just the other day.
The Air Force has various air defense systems at its disposal. The most massive air defense system in the Turkish Air Force is the British Rapier 2000 - 515 launchers with 86 batteries. Quite old MIM-23 Hawk XXI - 16 batteries remain in service. The delivery of Russian S-400 complexes in the form of 4 batteries has been carried out. Hundreds of anti-aircraft artillery systems remain in service, incl. modernized with modern components.
Since 2012, the Air Force has been operating the Göktürk-2 spacecraft. This product is intended for conducting optical reconnaissance in several ranges. In 2016, the satellite "constellation" was replenished with a second unit - the Göktürk-1 apparatus. It solves the same tasks as its predecessor, but has higher performance.
Development prospects
The Turkish command plans to develop the Air Force, but this process may face serious problems. So, one of the programs for the development of combat aviation has actually stopped, while the continuation of others remains in question.
Great hopes were pinned on the purchase of American F-35 fighters. There was an order for 30 vehicles; general plans provided for the purchase of 120. It was planned to transfer several squadrons to the new equipment, which are currently inactive due to the lack of suitable aircraft. However, the United States refused to supply its aircraft due to disputes over another international contract.
An attempt is being made to create its own 5th generation fighter. TAI is responsible for the TF-X project, which does not yet have the necessary experience. Now the project is in its early stages, but the first flight of the prototype is promised to be carried out in 2023-25. By the beginning of the thirties, the serial equipment was ready to enter the troops.
For several years, the development of a promising radar reconnaissance satellite Göktürk-3 has been underway. The launch of this apparatus was repeatedly postponed and has not yet been implemented. Its commissioning should significantly increase the potential of the existing small space constellation.
General conclusions
At the moment, the Turkish air force has a specific look, as a result of which there are both advantages and disadvantages. In their current state, they are capable of solving assigned tasks and carrying out combat work of one kind or another, but in this context there are significant limitations.
Against the background of other countries in the region, Turkish military aviation looks numerous and developed. There are quantitatively good (about 300 units) tactical aviation and various auxiliary units. At the same time, the Air Force is armed mainly with old equipment, which, despite all the modernizations, is noticeably inferior to full-fledged modern models. Attempts are being made to obtain new technology, but they are difficult. In particular, the purchase of promising F-35 aircraft is impossible due to disagreements with the United States.
A different situation is observed in the field of auxiliary aviation. There are and are being implemented several contracts for the supply of new equipment of various kinds. However, according to the results of this, the proportion of old samples remains very high. Changing the ratio of old and new technology will take some time and considerable funding.
The state of affairs in the field of UAVs is conducive to restrained optimism. Aircraft of several models of the main classes are produced and operated, which makes it possible to compensate to some extent for the lag in manned aviation. However, the active operation of UAVs in the combat zone leads to losses.
As the events of recent years show, the Turkish Air Force is quite capable of performing combat missions of various kinds in various conditions. However, the advantages over the surrounding countries are not decisive. Combat work is regularly accompanied by losses and does not always end with the successful completion of the mission. However, the military and political leadership of Turkey considers such costs to be acceptable and justified in achieving their goals. How correct this approach is - time should show.
