Turkey has announced through its Defence Ministry that it will deploy a fleet of F-16 fighter jets to the İncirlik air base, located in Turkey’s Adana province and shared with the US and NATO, and that the base – which until now has been used by the Turkish military primarily as an air tanker base for combat missions – will be renamed the “10th Main Jet Base Command” in line with its new role.
“The name of the 10th Tanker Base Command has been changed to 10th Main Jet Base Command in line with the needs of our Air Forces,” the Turkish Defence Ministry said in a statement released on 18 April. Turkish defence sources reported that the change is intended to meet the need for deployment in the south-southeast region of the growing fighter jets fleet of the Turkish army, which already has air bases in provinces such as Eskişehir, Balıkesir and Diyarbakır, and will soon add another 40 new F-16s sold by the US, from which Ankara has also acquired 79 upgrade kits for its existing F-16 fleet.
Built in the 1950s on the outskirts of Adana, Turkey’s 5th largest city, the İncirlik air base has been one of the most active in Turkey due to its strategic location in the Eastern Mediterranean and the most troubled region of the Middle East, having played a major role during the Gulf War and in Afghanistan. Under bilateral agreements, it is used jointly by the Turkish Armed Forces and other NATO countries, mainly the United States, which has İncirlik as the home of the US Air Force’s 10th Air Wing.
VOTE
EDITORIAL TEAM
🧿 About us
.
Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
…
📣 Your ADVERTISING on Hispanatolia
.
🤗 HELP US WITH A DONATION:
💗 Paypal
