Turkish Armed Forces are the most capable in the Middle East, according to the 2017 rating of “current military capabilities’ published by the international company Global Firepower. The list was placed on the top of world’s most prestigious business magazine Forbes.
Turkish military’s achievement wasn’t a suprise after all, since the country has become ever more heavily involved in operation in neighbouring Syria, culminating in the Afrin campaign launched in January 2018. Turkey also has important overseas military ties with Qatar and Somalia, basing troops in both countries.
Turkey has a total of 743,415 military personnel within the armed forces, with 382,850 being active and the other 360,565 being reserve staff, the website stated. Turkey also has a total aircraft strength of 1,018, with 207 fighter aircrafts and 207 attack aircrafts; 194 naval assets with 16 frigates, nine corvettes and 12 submarines; 2,445 combat tanks, 7,550 armored fighting vehicles, 1,013 self-propelled artillery, 697 towed artillery and 811 rocket projectors, according to the rankings.
The defense budget of the country is $8.2 billion and it has a total labor force of 30.2 million, it added.
8TH IN WORLD TOP 10 LIST
Turkey is also ranked in eighth place globally, just ahead of Germany.