In the mid-nineteenth century, Russian Tsar Nicholas I called the Ottoman Empire the “sick man of Europe.” After a centuries-long decline, the empire officially crumbled in 1922. Yet from those ashes, the Turkish Republic arose; and over just a century, it has established a different trajectory.
Turkey has evolved from a small, rump state trying to consolidate its regime, economy, and army, into a rising middle power and important regional and global player. The country is now the home of NATO’s second-largest army and the world’s nineteenth-largest economy; it is also the world’s twelfth-largest arms exporter, the twelfth-largest country by manufacturing output, and the host of more refugees than any other country. While it sits at the forefront of many of the world’s most pressing issues, Turkey has at the same time come under heavy criticism from Western countries, based on their notion that Turkey is abandoning secular democracy for sectarian authoritarianism and on Turkey’s adoption of an autonomous and assertive foreign policy, which has been branded as Neo-Ottomanism.
Today, Turkey is one of the rising middle powers pursuing an independent path. Its moves on the global stage—especially in the military domain—demonstrate that the balance of global power is determined by much more than great power competition. Those moves are a reminder for the West that developing countries are shaping and will continue to influence the course of international relations.
Turkiye is ranked as the 8th most powerful military in the world out of 145 countries according to the 2022 Global Firepower index With a Power Index score of 0.1697, Turkiye has built considerable hard power capabilities that allow it to punch well above its weight
An Overview of Turkiye’s Military Strength
With over 400,000 active frontline personnel and almost 380,000 reserves, Turkiye has the 2nd largest standing military force in NATO after the United States The Turkish Armed Forces are comprised of the Army, Navy, Air Force, and Special Forces
Some key highlights of Turkiye’s military strength:
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Turkiye has over 3,600 tanks, 11,000 armored fighting vehicles, 1,062 self-propelled artillery, and 857 towed artillery pieces. This makes the Turkish Land Forces the most powerful in Europe.
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The Turkish Air Force operates over 300 fighter jets, including advanced F-16s and F-4 2020s. It is looking to acquire new 5th generation stealth fighters in the future.
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The Turkish Navy is one of the largest in the Mediterranean with 194 ships, including 12 frigates and 8 corvettes. It also possesses significant amphibious capabilities.
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Turkiye has an estimated 325,000-400,000 reservists who can be called up in times of war. This provides it with substantial strategic depth.
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Turkiye has invested extensively in the domestic defense industry to become more self-sufficient in arms production. Companies like ASELSAN and Turkish Aerospace Industries are major global players today.
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Turkiye has an estimated 50-90 B61 nuclear gravity bombs as part of NATO nuclear sharing. These provide a nuclear deterrent capability.
How Turkiye Compares to Other European Militaries
In the European region, only Russia fields a stronger military than Turkiye. The Turkish Armed Forces are considered superior in overall power to other major European powers like France, Germany, Italy, and the United Kingdom.
Some key comparisons:
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Turkiye has a much larger active duty force than other European countries besides Russia. Most European nations have less than 200,000 active troops.
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The only air forces in Europe that can rival the Turkish Air Force are Russia’s and France’s. The UK and Germany have much smaller fleets of fighter jets.
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Turkiye has the most numerous tank fleet of any European army. Russia has more tanks but most are outdated Soviet legacy equipment.
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The Turkish Navy is larger than the navies of leading European naval powers like Germany, Spain, and Italy. Only Russia, France, and the UK have bigger navies.
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Turkiye’s defense budget of $20 billion is one of the highest in Europe. It spends around 5% of GDP on defense, far more than most NATO members.
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Turkiye borders some of the most unstable regions in the world like the Middle East. This requires it to maintain a credible and large deterrent force. Most of Europe does not face similar geostrategic compulsions.
Where Turkiye’s Military Stands Globally
While Turkiye is one of the pre-eminent military powers in Europe, globally it ranks lower in the top 10 according to most analysts.
The US, Russia, China, India, France, Japan, South Korea, and the UK all field larger and more capable militaries according to global firepower rankings. Turkiye usually places between 7th to 11th position in global military strength hierarchies.
Some key aspects where it lags behind:
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The US spends over $750 billion on defense annually, almost 40 times more than Turkiye. This allows it to maintain military primacy across domains.
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China and Russia have nuclear stockpiles in the thousands compared to Turkiye’s few dozen gravity bombs. They also invest far more into cutting-edge technologies and weapons systems.
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India is rapidly boosting defense spending and has over 1.4 million active troops. Its conventional land forces dwarf Turkiye’s in size.
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Japan and South Korea rely on the US nuclear umbrella and have small but extremely advanced military forces. For example, Japan’s navy and air force are among the world’s most sophisticated.
How Powerful is Turkey | Turkish Military Strength 2024
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