Forces of approximately 90,000 men, naval bases, amphibious fleet and special warfare units are deployed on the Asia Minor coast through the formations of the Turkish Army of the Aegean, while in Cyprus the Turks have turned the Occupied into a vast military base.
The recent announcements by the Turks about the intention to strengthen the forces they have in the Aegean (Aegean Army) and in Cyprus (Turkish Peacekeeping Force Command) are another step in strengthening the rhetorical militarization of Ankara in its relations with Athens and Nicosia.
Especially in the second case, as they are now accompanied by threatening statements by the so-called “minister of foreign affairs” of the pseudo-state, Tahsin Ertogruloglou, that if the UN peacekeeping force in Cyprus (UNFICYP) does not request the permission of the “government” of the occupied territories to extend the of its stay, then the existing blue-collar workers will be expelled from the pseudo-state. However, no such request has yet been submitted to the UNFICYP administration, so it remains to be seen how serious the officials of the pseudo-state are.
If, in fact, the announcements by the Turks to increase the military presence in the pseudo-state are real, then the occupied northern part of the island will resemble an immense base. Currently the number of Turkish military on the island is estimated at 35,000 and about 320 tanks and 650 armored personnel carriers or combat vehicles. The Turkish forces also have artillery, anti-aircraft and anti-tank systems and, as is clear, they already have a numerical superiority over the well-equipped National Guard, which guards the borders of the Republic of Cyprus.
At the same time, the Aegean Army, which has its headquarters in Smyrna with responsibility from the coast of Asia Minor and at a depth of 400 kilometers, is a tactical formation with many commands, under which even 150,000 men can serve during operations (in currently it is estimated that this number is around 90,000).
First of all, the amphibious fleet is docked at the Fokaia naval station, while a marine brigade is also based there. Due to the landing capabilities that are developed in Fokaia, there is also the administration of special missions, exclusively for the Aegean. Although it is not administratively under the Aegean Army, the naval base of Aksaz (Marmaris area in the north of Rhodes) has been the base of the Turkish navy to the Eastern Mediterranean for the last 20 years and some squadrons of frigates and corvettes are now permanently stationed there.
The crisis of August 2020 and the speed of development of the Turkish fleet in the Eastern Mediterranean highlighted the strategic importance of this particular base. On the air side, the vast majority of Turkish fighters taking off in order to carry out breaches in the Aegean are from the two combat wings at Balikesir and Badirma. As a rule, those carried out in the south-eastern Aegean are carried out by fighters which take off from the staging airport in Dalaman.
A new element that has joined the Turkish armed forces are the UAVs, the command stations of which are located in various places in Asia Minor. Bayraktar-type drones are also stationed in the Occupied Territories.
