“Winter Exercise-2023” Hosted By Turkey Has Been Successfully Completed
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) organized “Winter Exercise-2023”, the most widely attended winter exercise in the Republic’s history, which was conducted by the 14th Mechanized Infantry Brigade Command under the dispatch and administration of the 9th Corps Command in the Martyr Engineer First Sergeant İlhan Hamlı Shooting and Training Area in the Kars province. Troops and elements from the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, the Turkish General Staff, the Turkish Land Forces Command, the Naval Forces Command, the Air Forces Command, and the Special Forces Command, as well as civil public institutions and organizations, took part, as did troops and elements from Germany, Azerbaijan, Bahrain, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Georgia, Ethiopia, UK, Italy, Qatar, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Kosovo, Kuwait, Libya, Malaysia, Mongolia, and Uzbekistan. The exercise was observed by military attachés from 54 countries, including China, the United States, Russia, Ukraine, South Korea, Poland, Finland, Egypt, and France.
According to the Turkish Ministry of National Defense, the purpose of Winter Exercise-2023 is to ensure cooperation and coordination in the execution of Combined and Joint operations, to test the combat capabilities of the troops, including shooting in deep snow and severe cold, to improve fire synchronization, maneuverability, and survivability by simulating the battlefield in all dimensions to improve the level of training and survivability in the field of settlement, shelter, subsistence, supply, and maintenance activities in winter conditions and to ensure that the Command and Control Systems are operational in winter conditions. Furthermore, the exercise provided an opportunity to test the performance of combat weapons and vehicles in the Turkish Armed Forces’ inventory, as well as those newly added to the inventory or being developed by defense industry firms, in harsh weather conditions.
651 vehicles of 43 different types, 865 weapons of 23 different types, and 2,113 military personnel participated in Winter Exercise-2023, which was based on a generic scenario. The Kargu Rotary Wing UAV System, Mini UGV Systems AKROP and KOMODO, PROTON Elite Detector Tunnel Detection Device, Roketsan’s Tactical Missile Weapon System (also known as KMC in Turkey), STM’s TOGAN UAV, ASELSAN’s SERÇE-2 and SERÇE-3 Mini UAVs, ASELSAN’s 81 and 120mm Mortar Fire Direction System, KN12 Sniper Rifle, new type of winter clothes, holster and combat vests resistant to minus 25 degrees cold, and the New Generation Air Defense System HERIKKS-VI were among the weapon systems used for the first time in the exercise.
The exercise, which lasted about a month in harsh climatic conditions with occasional snowfall and temperature drops to 20 degrees below zero, concluded on February 3 with the Distinguished Observer Day, which was attended by Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar, Azerbaijani Defense Minister Gen. Zakir Hasanov, and Georgian Defense Minister Juansher Burchuladze. Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar stated in his speech during the event that the exercise was successfully completed without any accidents and that they once again had the opportunity to see how the Turkish Armed Forces is ready for combat in all terrains and weather conditions and is ready for action at any moment. Minister Akar stated that the Turkish Armed Forces conducted 225 exercises in 2022, after conducting 985 exercises in the previous five years, and that 206 exercises are planned for 2023.