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THE WINGED POWER OF THE TURKISH NAVAL FORCES: NAVAL AIR COMMAND

The developments in electronic, electro-optic, and communication systems in the last decade have provided the fixed and rotary wing maritime aircraft with precise and secure navigation and stand-off target detection, identification, tracking, as well as uninterrupted communication and real-time data transmission capabilities. Additionally, arming these aircraft with long-range guided missiles and torpedo systems enabled them to deal with modern surface and underwater threats.

Date: Issue 107 - June 2021

Combining these capabilities of technology with short reaction times, speed, and long endurance, which are the characteristics of their own nature, Naval Aircraft can perform reconnaissance, surveillance, and patrol missions (ASW/ASUW) against underwater and surface threats in critical regions, passages, and waterways, while providing the Navy elements with a real-time and precise tactical picture of the battlefield, and act as weapon platforms when necessary. Being a force multiplier with all these capabilities, Naval Aviation elements have become an indispensable part of modern naval forces, as they give the Navy the ability to make operations in the third domain.

Naval Aviation, which carried the naval warfare to a 3D environment since the 1st World War, has become an indispensable element of naval operations with its helicopters, maritime patrol aircraft, UAV/UCAVs, and fighter aircraft. In this issue, we will introduce you to the Naval Air Command under the Fleet Command, which provides airborne reconnaissance & surveillance, Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW), and Anti-Surface Anti-Surface Unit Warfare (ASUW) capabilities to the Turkish Naval Forces Command (TNFC), both in domestic and international missions and operations, with its modern fixed and rotary wing Manned and Unmanned maritime aircraft equipped with high-tech sensors, command-control, and weapon systems.