In the Eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Seas, the large "Blue Homeland" exercise of the Turkish Armed Forces is taking place, at the same time as the war is raging in Ukraine.
The exercise, which began on April 11 and will last until April 21, is practically aimed at increasing levels of war readiness, but is essentially being used by Ankara to substantiate its baseless allegations and provocative claims about the "Blue Homeland".
As it became known, 122 warships, fighter jets, air refueling planes, spy planes, ATAK helicopters, drones, SAS and SAT commandos and chemical, biological, radioactive and nuclear warfare teams are taking part in the exercise.
Türk donanmasının gücünü göstereceği Mavi Vatan-2022 tatbikatı başladı. Milli Savunma Bakanlığı Karadeniz, Ege ve Doğu Akdeniz’de gerçekleştirilecek tatbikata 121 gemi ve savaş uçağı, insansız hava aracı ve helikopterlerden oluşan 41 hava unsurunun katılacağını açıkladı.
— CNN TÜRK (@cnnturk) April 12, 2022
"The Blue Homeland exercise is planned to be carried out by the navy forces between April 11 and 21 in the Black Sea, in the Aegean Sea and in the Eastern Mediterranean", the Turkish Ministry of Defense said on social media networks, posting a relevant video.
2⃣ Tatbikata; 122 gemi, 41 hava unsuru, amfibi deniz piyade birlikleri ve amfibi hücum timleri, SAT ve SAS görev timleri ile kıyı birlikleri, diğer Kuvvet Komutanlıkları, Jandarma Genel Komutanlığı, Sahil Güvenlik Komutanlığı ve çeşitli kamu kurum ve kuruluşları katılıyor. #MSB pic.twitter.com/uZDoHkdHqo
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) April 11, 2022
As announced by the Turkish General Staff, surface units of the Turkish Navy will demonstrate their capabilities, with attacks against designated targets, accompanied by helicopters and aircraft.
READ MORE: Turkish journalist: Our commandos lowered the Greek flag from the East Aegean islets in 2018.
