President Gül declares Armed Forces to be guarantee of Turkey’s independence

President Gül, participating in the delivery ceremony of the T129 ATAK Advanced Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance Helicopters, reiterated the importance for a country to be ready for anything in such a difficult geography, noting: “Turkey is increasingly adding strength to its deterrence power, of which we are very proud indeed.”

President Gül attended the delivery ceremony of the T129 ATAK Advanced Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance Helicopters.

Welcomed by Commander of the Army, Gen. Hulusi Akar, and the Commander of the Army Aviation, Gen. Hamza Koçyiğit, upon his arrival at the Army Aviation Command, President Gül delivered an address after the speeches by Gen. Akar and Prime Minister Erdoğan.

NECESSITY TO MAKE ARMED FORCES EVEN STRONGER

Offering his thanks to Prime Minister Erdoğan and other officials who made this strategic decision during a meeting held by the Defense Industry Executive Committee in 2004, President Gül recalled that he also attended the delivery ceremonies of the AWACS aircraft in Konya and the strategic transport aircraft in Kayseri. “We were proud then and we are very proud today as well. Turkey has manufactured these helicopters in the factory where Turkey’s TAI is the main contractor.”

This demonstrates the high level the Turkish defense industry has reached, declared the President and he noted that a country located in a difficult geography must be ready for anything. “Turkey is increasingly adding strength to its deterrence power, of which we are very proud indeed.”

President Gül further recalled that Turkey learned from the 1974 Cyprus Peace Operation that a country should not be dependent on foreign sources in the defense industry, continuing: “Since then, Turkey has reached a point where it can manufacture important parts of the equipment for its Armed Forces. We also share these with our allies as well. Today, we are faced with such threats as terrorism, trafficking and radicalism besides other conventional dangers. Therefore, we must make our Armed Forces even stronger in order to struggle against these threats and keep them away from us. Our nation appreciates and supports the efforts toward this aim.”

Declaring the Turkish Armed Forces to be the guarantee of Turkey’s independence, President Gül said that the Turkish nation has always cherished and will always cherish the Armed Forces and extended his thanks to everyone who has contributed to the realization of the ceremony.

After the talks, a family photo was taken and an introductory clip of the ATAK helicopter was shown.

Afterwards, the invitees of te ceremony enjoyed a demonstration flight of the ATAK helicopter.

All News