Turkish military makes firepower display at drill

By Sarp Ozer

ANKARA (AA) - The Turkish Armed Forces displayed its firepower at a military drill on Tuesday as all weapons systems hit their targets at the site in the capital Ankara.

The exercise, "Free fire-2022" was attended by National Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Guler, Land Forces Commander Musa Avsever, Naval Forces Commander Adm. Ercument Tatlioglu, and Air Force Commander Gen. Atilla Gulan.

At least 825 personnel from the military branches and special forces participated in the joint exercise, aimed at demonstrating the Turkish Armed Forces' firepower and show the capacity of the weapons in its inventory, while improving fire support coordination.

The event included 39 weapons and weapon systems, including F-16 fighter jets, T-129 ATAK helicopters, and T-155 Firtina (Storm) howitzers.

The Turkish-made T-129 ATAK is a next-generation, tandem and two-seat, twin-engine helicopter specifically designed for attack and reconnaissance.

Since the first delivery of ATAK to the Turkish military in 2014, more than 70 units have been produced so far.

ATAK, which can fly for three hours and has a take-off weight of five tons, has successfully performed tasks such as attack, precision engagement, armed reconnaissance, armed support, armed protection, destruction of air defense systems, and urban-area combat.

Free fire-2022 was also attended by the military attaches of various countries in Ankara, including Greece, Ukraine, Russia, and the US.