ANKARA -

5 years have passed since the coup attempt that Turkey was subjected to on July 15, 2016. Since then, the Turkish army has witnessed profound transformations and fundamental changes in its structure and role at home and abroad, especially since the coup that ended in failure was carried out by officers from the army itself. .

After that attempt, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan began rebuilding his country's army, which was the sector most affected by the coup attempt, and this included a campaign of purges of thousands of land, sea and air forces loyal to the "Fethullah Gulen" organization accused of plotting the coup.

The Turkish citizens' response to the putschists strongly contributed to the failure of the July coup (Al-Jazeera)

Army Structure

The failure of the coup represented a main motive for regulating relations and roles within the army, so that the Minister of Defense assumes the primary responsibility for the military institution, after his coordinating role was without actual authority over the institution, so that the chief of staff became subordinate to the Ministry of Defense.

Weeks after the failed coup attempt, the Turkish Official Gazette published a decision to restructure the "Supreme Military Shura Council", which has broad powers with regard to approving higher promotions in the army and referring the higher ranks to retirement or extending them.

After the transition to the presidential system, the Supreme Military Shura Council became held under the chairmanship of the President of the Republic and in the presence of his assistant and the Minister of Defense, Foreign Affairs, Interior, Finance, Justice and Education, in addition to the Chief of Staff and the commanders of the land, naval and air forces, and the General Secretariat was transferred from the Chief of Staff to the Ministry of Defense.

The commanders of the land, naval and air forces were attached to the Ministry of Defense, and the General Command of the Gendarmerie Forces and the Coast Guard Command were attached to the Ministry of Interior, as part of successive decisions during recent years in the framework of restructuring the army.

Turkey continues to prosecute those involved in the failed July coup to put them on trial (Al-Jazeera)

Operations outside the border

After the attempted coup, the restructuring of the Turkish army, and the liquidation of "Gülen" elements from it, it became more dynamic and effective in the regional and international arena, and its operations were launched outside Turkey's borders, starting with its operations in northern Syria against ISIS and the Kurdish People's Protection Units, passing through Libya, to which the armed forces contributed Turkey diverted the course in favor of the Government of National Accord, reaching Azerbaijan, whose arms contributed to the settlement of the battle in the Nagorno-Karabakh region against Armenia.

The Libyan file and the eastern Mediterranean have emerged on the Turkish army’s agenda in securing its maritime borders. In its operational dimension, it moves beyond the land borders, and Ankara signed defense agreements with the Libyan Government of National Accord that changed the balances in the Libyan track.

The Turkish forces have strengthened their presence in the eastern Mediterranean, amid an escalating conflict over exclusive economic zones and oil wealth, and conducted several maneuvers, as well as opened their military base in Qatar after the siege it was subjected to.

Haberturk newspaper reported that the Turkish armed forces were at the top of the institutions that suffered from the coup attempt behind the "Gülen" organization, but they are now more powerful.

She pointed out that the Turkish army, which launched Operation Euphrates Shield in northern Syria, shortly after the coup attempt, is now operating on six fronts, simultaneously.

The Turkish newspaper added that the army is no longer referred to as coups, and has become under the command of the Turkish people, is not completely subject to NATO policies, and performs difficult tasks in operations that will have an impact on Turkey's future.

She explained that the Turkish army is working to establish a safe zone for its operations in northern Iraq and its points of concentration there.

In mid-June 2020, the Turkish army launched its operations against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) in northern Iraq, as part of the "Eagle Claw" and then "Tiger's Claw" operations, and on April 23, it launched the "Lightning Claw" and "Lightning Claw" operations. Claw of the Thunderbolt", in the areas of "Matina" and "Afshin Bassian" in northern Iraq.

The Turkish army has achieved successes in the areas of the "Euphrates Shield" operation, which it launched months after the coup attempt, and later "Olive Branch" and "Spring of Peace" in northeastern and western Syria, and it operates on the Fifth Front in Libya, as well as on the Sixth Front of Azerbaijan, and perhaps later. in Afghanistan.

defense industries

In parallel with the operations of the Turkish army, which increased its external activity, Turkey focused on the local defense industries, and was able to achieve a qualitative leap, especially in the field of manufacturing Turkish drones, such as Bayraktar Akinci, which had significant imprints in Syria, Libya and Azerbaijan.

Turkey has succeeded in manufacturing many weapons, including air defense systems, armored vehicles and tanks, and is seeking to launch its warplanes in 2023. This was evident in the decrease in Turkey's arms imports between 2016 and 2019 by 48%, compared to the previous five years, according to a report for the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute (SIPRI) in 2019.

The Turkish president stressed that his country has achieved a qualitative leap in domestic defense production, noting that it has risen by more than 70%, and Turkey is implementing its huge projects.

The defense industries budget doubled in recent years, rising to 60 billion dollars, and with the continued progress of projects, this number rose to about 80 billion.

Expenditure on research and development, which was absent, exceeded $ 1.5 billion in 2019, and Turkish companies are among the largest defense companies in the world.

The Turkish company, ASELSAN, was able to occupy the 52nd place in the list of the American "Defense News" magazine, which annually ranks the top 100 global companies in the defense industry during 2020, while the Turkish Aerospace and Aerospace Industries Company (TUSAŞ) ranked 69th in the ranking.

As for the company "STM" for engineering, design and modernization of naval military equipment, drones, space technology and radar, it continued its progress and entered the American magazine's classification by occupying the 85th place.

The company "Roketsan", which specializes in the manufacture of missiles and missiles, also entered the world ranking list, occupying 89th place, knowing that its budget is estimated at 522 million dollars.