Efes Operation Gains an International Dimension
The Efes Combined Joint Physical Ballistic Operation held internationally this year for the first time by Turkish Armed Forces (TAF) between 4 May and 4 June was performed on 30 – 31 May at Doğanbey district in Seferihisar / İzmir with the participation of distinguished observers and members of the press. Troops from Armed Forces of Germany, USA, Azerbaijan, England, Qatar, Pakistan, Poland and Saudi Arabia attended the operation with Turkey this year for the first time. One of the riveting changes in the operation in which observers from seventy nine countries with 900 foreign staff and 7 thousand 500 soldiers was the various scenarios that were executed this year. The hybrid operation covering the fight against terrorism, cyber warfare and psychological warfare was taken as a basis this year for the first time in addition to the amphibious landing, close air support, gunfire and missile support scenarios which were conducted independently in the previous years.
The night phase of the operation performed at the Doğanbey district as in the past years which was conducted on the first day for the press members was breathtaking. Initially the Chief of General Staff Full General Hulusi Akar and commanders – in – chief of armed forces arrived at the operation area and they were followed by the visitor chiefs of defense arriving with helicopters. The operation was carefully watched by Azerbaijan’s Minister of Defense Zakir Hasanov, Saudi Arabia’s Chief of General Staff Abdulrahman Saleh Al Bunyan, Qatar Chief of Defense Ghanim bin Shaheen Al-Ghanim, Ukraine’s Chief of General Staff Viktor Muzhenko, Poland’s Deputy Chief of Staff Anatol Wojtan, Japanese Commander of Land Forces Kiyofumi Iwata and Pakistani Commander of the Land Forces Raheel Sharif in addition to the Chief of General Staff Full General Hulusi Akar and all commanders – in – chief of armed forces, the Minister of National Defense Mr. Fikri Işık from the platform prepared especially for the audience.
Operation Started with the Landing of Special Forces
Following the briefing on the executive actions, the night phase of the Efes 2016 Combined Joint Physical Ballistic Operation started with the landing of the Underwater and SAS commandos from the sea and the Special Forces Command staff’s landing from the air. Turkish and Saudi Arabian forces intruded from air during this phase while the forces of Turkey, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, Poland, Qatar and Saudi Arabia intruded from the sea. Upon the reconnaissance of the Special Forces, artillery fire was conducted towards the land; F16 jets of the participant countries’ air forces fired the determined targets with sorties subsequently. Attack helicopters such as the Cobra fired the targets identified especially for them and they were followed by naval assault fires. Meanwhile the underwater and SAS commandos identified the mines at the sea and cleared them. In addition to the ground to ground howitzer artillery fires, four F16 jets performed bombardments. With the destruction of the targets determined by the Special Forces at the area to which the attack helicopters would land, the preliminary reconnaissance required for the landing of the amphibious units was executed. Simultaneously, the attack helicopters covered the identified zones with fire. The attack of the opposing forces to the launched allied forces was responded with the howitzers. The red points representing the tanks of the opposing forces were fired with missiles. Following the firing of the attack helicopters, during which the Atak helicopters were also used, the initial air raid operation was finalized. Upon the completion of the preparations required for the landing, the landing vessels carrying the tank and armed personnel carriers came aboard. The primary wave of the marine amphibious brigades was launched onto the ground from the sea. During the landing, the fire of the opposing forces’ air units towards the allied countries’ forces was responded with the air defense systems at 22:00. Within the scope of the operation, the tactical class unmanned air vehicles Bayraktar and Karayel performed reconnaissance flights while the T129 Atak helicopters accomplished a physical night firing for the first time.
On 31 May, the day phase of the operation was conducted. President Mr. Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Mr. Binali Yıldırım followed this stage closely. Following the stage completed the previous day according to the scenario, Sikorsky S-70 type helicopters deployed the rocket launchers to the determined location. The staff deployed with the landing crafts landed onto the ground through the tanks and fired the identified targets. After the transfer of the injured staff to the mobile field hospital via the helicopter, the amphibious assault landing was supported by two F-15 aircrafts of allied air forces of Saudi Arabia.
T129 ‘‘Atak’’ also Performed Physical Firing During the day Phase of the Operation
Along the howitzer and artillery units, the helicopters including the indigenous attack helicopter Atak successfully performed the firing to the targets determined from the aircrafts and the vessels at the sea.
As part of the operation in which five snipers from Turkey, Poland, Qatar, Saudi Arabia and Azerbaijan, the terrorist components named as “hybrid” were attacked at the residential district. The physical firing phase of the operation during which the region inflicted with the chemical, biological, radiological and nuclear contamination by the artillery unit of the opposing forces was successfully completed with the acquisition of the targets.
Following the completion of the physical firing stage of the operation conducted at the Doğanbey Firing Practice Zone and upon Chief of General Staff Full General Hulusi Akar’s speech; President Mr. Erdoğan, Prime Minister Mr. Binali Yıldırım, Minister of National Defense Mr. Fikri Işık and the accompanying delegation visited the exhibition opened at the operation field with the participation of 18 national defense companies. President Erdoğan observing the parade of the vessels, aircrafts, helicopters and boats participating in the operation left the operation field after the photo shoot session.
During the operation in which many new grounds were broken, the Turkish indigeneous attack helicopter ‘‘Atak’’ performed a physical firing for the first time. First vessel of the MİLGEM (National Ship) Project the TCG ‘‘Heybeliada’’ corvette took part in the operation as well. Indigenous Unmanned Air Vehicles Bayraktar TB2 and Karayel performed in the operation with imagery intelligence support for the first time. The operation field was available for the national defense companies this year for the first time as well. Distinguished observers along with the participant countries’ units and armed components visited the exhibition opened with the attendance of 18 national defense companies. The Unmanned Air Vehicle ‘Bayraktar’ included in the TAF’s inventory in tactical class, ‘Karayel’ developed and produced by Vestel Defense and expected soon to be included in the TAF’s inventory and prototype of Main Battle Tank ‘‘Altay’’ which is currently going through tests and qualification tests were displayed to the participants at the static zone at the exhibition area. 18 companies, Roketsan, Aselsan, MKEK, FNSS and Nurol Makina being in the first place introduced their products and capabilities at the exhibition area.
Biennial International Participation
This year a critical change was made in the scope of the Efes Operation which is one of the most comprehensive activities of the Turkish Armed Forces. The Efes Operation was transformed into a combined operation for the first time this year with the participation of foreign countries. It was declared that starting from this year the operation would be conducted jointly with the participation of the national forces one year and combined operation with the attendance of foreign countries would be performed the following year.
