Bayraktar TB3, developed by Baykar and being the world’s first UAV capable of taking off and landing from short-runway ships, brought the operational capability on TCG ANADOLU to the international arena. Bayraktar TB3 UCAV successfully completed its first operational demonstration abroad within the scope of Steadfast Dart 2026, one of NATO’s most comprehensive exercises. TB3, which took off autonomously in the sea area of ​​​​the exercise, fired a double MAM-L salvo at the designated surface target and destroyed the target. TB3 landed safely on the ship after the operation. It considers the presence of TCG ANADOLU and Bayraktar TB3 duo in the Baltic Sea as one of the most critical elements of allied deterrence within the framework of NATO defense plans.

“DETERRENT” POWER IN THE BALTIC SEA

3 Bayraktar TB3s currently serving in TCG ANADOLU were closely monitored by NATO allies. It is planned that two UCAVs will carry out coordinated operations in the later stages of the exercise. At this stage, while one platform uses MAM-L ammunition, the other platform is expected to fire with MAM-T, which has higher destructive power.

Baykar, which received the Champions of Export Award by being among the top 10 exporting companies in all sectors in Türkiye in 2023 and 2024, became the export leader of the defense and aerospace sector according to the data of the Presidency of Defense Industries and the Turkish Exporters Assembly (TİM) in 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024. Baykar, which alone carried out one-third of the sector’s exports in 2023, carried out one-fourth of the total exports of the defense and aerospace sector in 2024, making Türkiye a leader in the global UAV export market. Baykar, the world’s largest unmanned aerial vehicle company, has signed export agreements with 36 countries for the Bayraktar TB2 SİHA and with 16 countries so far for the Bayraktar AKINCI TİHA, a total of 37 countries.

WHY IS STEADFAST DART IMPORTANT?

What makes the 2026 leg of the exercise special is that our Bayraktar TB3 UCAV took the stage. While our national UAV proves to the world how unmanned systems will direct modern naval warfare by taking off from short-runway ships such as TCG ANADOLU and hitting targets with full accuracy, it also confirms Türkiye’s deterrent power in this field. On the other hand, he shared a post about our 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade, which served in an exercise in NATO.

The “4th European Turkish Media Summit” was held in Gelsenkirchen, Germany’s North Rhine-Westphalia (NRW) state. The event organized by the European Union of Turkish Press and Journalists (ATGB) was attended by members of the press from various countries in Europe, as well as politicians and representatives of various associations.

AK Party Deputy Chairman Kürşad Zorlu made a statement to the AA correspondent after his speech here. Zorlu stated that they aim to unite the power of the Turkish world diaspora and said, “Recently, the relations between the Turkish world, especially within the organization of Turkish states, continue to grow and grow. An important pillar of these strengthened relations is to bring together our diaspora power.” he said.

Pointing out that there are nearly 20 million Turks living in various countries of the world outside Türkiye, Zorlu pointed out the importance of both the media and non-governmental organizations in strengthening the Turkish diaspora.

Zorlu pointed out that the recent global fractures in the world, searches for new alliances, and developments taking place in different geographies have also affected Türkiye, and said: “Today, the Republic of Turkey has reached the position of a growing country, strengthened by its national defense industry, which is honorable, independent, and able to make its own decisions in its region, against these fractures, geographical tests, and all the crises that are coming to our door.

In response to these challenges in our nearby geography, Türkiye has become a country that takes steps and follows these steps not only here but also in different geographies against these crises and chaotic processes. “Türkiye has now become a mediator country whose words and beliefs are trusted in calming down many ongoing conflict climates in Africa, the Black Sea, the South Caucasus, the Middle East and Asia.”

Giving the good news that they will implement an important project, Zorlu said, “We will turn the Turkish world civil society workshop, which we held for the first time last year, into a big symposium this year and we will implement a large digital system. The Turkish world civil society support system. With this system, today, we are gathering all the non-governmental organizations in the Turkish world under one roof and linking them with all our institutions in Türkiye. With the click of a button, hopefully all these non-governmental organizations will be gathered in a common network, and our cooperation will continue much stronger.” he said.

Referring to Türkiye’s relations with the EU, Zorlu said: “Today, the collapse in the global system, especially the existence of societies that are rapidly moving away from civilizational values, carries the Republic of Turkey to a very important point, both in its region and in the world, and in the alliances with which it has relations. What did our President say? ‘Turkey is the last exit before the bridge for the European Union.’ In this regard, yes, we see relations with the European Union as strategically important and we want to continue our path in this sense. However, we want our friends in Europe to know this very well: Today, Turkey has become a very important new center of excitement for the EU, with its growing, strengthening, increasing population, dynamic structure and rising cooperation area with these Turkish states I mentioned. From this perspective, this mission that Türkiye has undertaken in many areas from Europe to Asia, from Europe to the Eastern Mediterranean, has great meaning for all of us, for humanity, and for the peace and tranquility of our regions.” At the end of the program, Kürşad Zorlu was given the “Turkish World Service Award”.

Minister Göktaş stated in his post on his NSosyal account that people cannot focus for more than 8 seconds anymore. Underlining that this constant state of stimulation harms children more, Göktaş said, “This is exactly why, as in many countries around the world, we are soon implementing our social media regulation to protect our children.” he said. Göktaş’s post also included a video in which he made a statement on the subject. Emphasizing that the video in question should be played with play dough in order to be watched more carefully, Göktaş said that just talking is not enough to watch videos on social media, different movements should also be displayed.

Minister Göktaş said:

“Continuously scrolling the screens on social media has become so normal that we no longer focus on a subject for more than 8 seconds. This constant state of stimulation harms our children more than it does us. Our children’s attention span has decreased by at least 30 percent in the last 10 years. This directly affects their focus, friendship relations, and success rates at school. This has made the teaching process of our teachers very difficult. For this very reason, social media regulations for children are being discussed and implemented all over the world. We want to provide a safer internet environment for our children.” We want support from you, our parents, and our teachers in this regard. Together, we can make safe internet possible for our children.”

According to information received from security sources, strategic deployment can be defined as the ability of a state to transfer its military units, vehicles and logistics elements from its own territory to another region in a planned manner. This process is not just about transportation; It refers to a multi-stage action capacity, starting from the planning and preparation of the force, including deployment, organization in the forward area, maintenance during the mission and return after the mission. In this respect, strategic deployment is one of the basic elements of the broader concept of force transfer. Because the success of an army that can serve in distant geographies; It depends on the co-operation of transportation facilities, logistics continuity, air and sea transportation capacity and planning skills. Therefore, the value of military power is revealed by the ability to use these systems in the right place at the right time, rather than the systems in the inventory.

WHY IS STRATEGIC TRANSITION SO IMPORTANT?

Today, in the world military balance, strategic deployment is considered a direct indicator of deterrence. The ability of a state to quickly and effectively shift its forces out of the homeland has become a factor that affects not only military planning but also the decision processes of rival actors. For this reason, in modern military doctrines, strategic mobility is considered one of the basic conditions of being a great power. In this context, large-scale exercises give several important messages from a military perspective. Portability of force has now become a determining factor in military success. Logistics infrastructure, transportation capacity and planning skills directly affect operational success. Additionally, strategic deployment capability is also seen as an indicator of political power. An army that can quickly reach distant geographies has the opportunity to manage crises beyond its borders, gives confidence to its allies and increases its deterrence.

WHAT DOES STEADFAST DART 26 MEAN FOR Türkiye?

Steadfast Dart 26, the largest exercise of the year organized by NATO in Germany, is an important platform where these capabilities are tested. Türkiye’s participation with approximately 2 thousand personnel should be seen as an opportunity for the Turkish Armed Forces to test their mobility. This participation does not mean replacing any ally – especially the USA – or filling any power vacuum. The main goal is for Türkiye to test and develop its own strategic deployment capacity and make it visible within the alliance. Such exercises also reveal the importance of logistics mobility in the European security architecture. For NATO, rapid force transfer means testing the functionality of transportation lines and connection points within the continent as well as the transfer of troops. Turkey stands out as one of the facilitators of this mobility with its geographical location, transportation infrastructure and operational experience.

WHAT MAKES Türkiye DIFFERENT?

The prominent aspect of Türkiye in the exercise is the quality of participation. While some countries are involved with mostly headquarters elements or limited troop contributions, Türkiye has troops that can be deployed to the field and perform missions. This situation makes Türkiye’s role in the exercise more evident. Since the Cyprus Peace Operation, Turkish Armed Forces have carried out cross-border or overseas force transfer activities in different geographies such as the north of Iraq, Afghanistan, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Somalia, Kosovo, Qatar, Libya and the north of Syria. These operations, carried out under different conditions, provided the Turkish Armed Forces with significant force deployment and maintenance experience. This accumulation shows that strategic transfer capacity has ceased to be a theoretical planning topic and has also developed in practice. Türkiye’s capacity to jointly use land, air and sea transportation elements is also one of the prominent elements. Strategic mobility is considered a capacity that requires the use of these elements together. In modern military doctrines, such versatile transportation possibilities are considered decisive in terms of rapid reaction and operational flexibility.

In this context, Türkiye’s possession of A400M transport aircraft and platforms such as TCG Anadolu means an important leap in terms of institutional strengthening of its strategic deployment capacity. Especially considering the role of maritime transportation in sustainable force transfer to distant geographies, such platforms increase Türkiye’s access speed to crisis areas and operational continuity. Türkiye’s participation in the exercise with local and national systems also revealed that its strategic deployment capacity is now supported by domestic defense infrastructure. In light of these developments, Steadfast Dart 26 is a concrete capacity test for Türkiye. While the exercise allows the Turkish Armed Forces to test their rapid deployment capacity in the European geography, it also reveals that Türkiye’s role within NATO is not limited to regional defense only. In this table, Türkiye stands out as one of the active countries that contribute to the overall mobility of the alliance. As a result, strategic transfer capability is at the center of the modern understanding of warfare. Being strong today means being able to quickly deploy and sustain that power when necessary. Türkiye’s presence in NATO exercises is a reflection of this capacity. Because power is no longer measured by what is owned, but by what can be put into action; Deterrence is built on this speed and sustainability. In today’s security environment, strategic deployment has become one of the main power indicators that determine the global position of states.

Minister of Energy and Natural Resources Alparslan Bayraktar said, “Our Çağrı Bey drilling ship, which we named Curad-1 in April, is the name given to the first newborn babies in Somali. We gave this name to our first well there. Hopefully, it will reach the well point and start deep-sea drilling activities.” he said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan met with the ship personnel through Minister Alparslan Bayraktar.

President Erdoğan met with the personnel of the ship ‘Çağrı Bey’

Erdogan said:

“WE ARE EXPECTING GOOD GOOD FROM ÇAĞRI BEY”

Dear members of TPAO and valuable members of our Çağrı Bey drilling ship, first of all, I hope that your journey will be beneficial and you have a long journey that will last until April, but this journey will be a truly blessed journey and we hope to have good news and news from Somalia. May God help you, hopefully with these drillings we will hear and make the voices of all these ships of Türkiye heard, not only in our country but all over the world. I hope this blessed journey will be beneficial.

ÇAĞRI BEY DRILLING SHIP’S JOURNEY TO SOMALIA

Çağrı Bey, which is 228 meters long, 42 meters wide and 114 meters high, can drill to a depth of 12 thousand meters.

Çağrı Bey, who will not be able to sail through the Suez Canal due to the height of the tower, will sail from end to end in the Mediterranean, then sail to the Atlantic Ocean via the Strait of Gibraltar, follow the West African coast, pass the Cape of Good Hope and reach Somalia.

Before CHP Chairman Özgür Özel’s “We Protect the Will of the Nation, We Do Not Give Our Olives, Air, Water, and Land” rally today, it was revealed that many olive trees were slaughtered in a land in the district.

On February 12, 27 ancient olive trees, each of which was at least 100 years old, were slaughtered on a 3-decare land, which is an olive field, located in Dipsarnıç, Menteş District of the district. It was determined that the land in question belonged to the Milas District Chairman of the Republican People’s Party, Ahmet Kılbey.

Minister of Agriculture and Forestry İbrahim Yumaklı made a statement regarding the scandal on his social media account.

Minister Yumaklı said, “Those who do not leave the word to anyone, saying that we will defend trees and nature when it comes to words, remained silent while dozens of olive trees were being massacred by the Muğla Milas CHP District Chairman.” he said.

Yumaklı stated the following:

RANT GAMES IN THE BACKGROUND OF SO-CALLED ENVIRONMENTAL SENSITIVITY!

Is it allowed for CHP members to cut down 100-year-old olive trees? You are no better at lying to our nation. And you talk about going to the squares and protecting olive trees.