Almost all of the air, land and naval platforms owned by the armed forces of the countries in the Arabian peninsula, excluding Syria, including Egypt, are of US and western origin, just like us. Many main equipment/systems used by the armies of North African, Balkan countries and Turkic Republics with which we are currently in cooperation, Pakistan, Indonesia and Malaysia are the same or similar to the systems in the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces.
Benefiting these countries from the maintenance and repair capabilities of the Ministry of National Defense may form the basis for comprehensive military cooperation to be established in the future. With its technological infrastructure, trained manpower, organizational structures and mobilization capabilities, the shipyards and facilities under the Ministry of National Defense (MND) General Directorate of Shipyards and MND General Directorate of Military Factories have the potential to support a military force as much as the TAF as warehouse level maintenance. In this context, track laying vehicles (tanks, Armored Combat Vehicles / Armored Personnel Carriers and Howitzers), heavy and light weapons, Aselsan production command control, night vision, fire control, etc. systems, F4/F5, F16 combat aircraft, cargo and training aircraft, radar and electronic ground systems, avionic devices, helicopters, wheeled armored vehicles can be the subject of this cooperation. In fact, MND can establish and operate maintenance and repair facilities in appropriate conditions in the relevant countries.
Our 11 maintenance centers are able to meet field repair and maintenance requests that exceed the level of unit maintenance from abroad with small reinforcements. Storage level maintenance (renovation) requests can be met in 8 main maintenance centers. The current capacity and capabilities of these main maintenance centers, each of which is specialized in certain areas, are initially sufficient for this purpose. In addition, the capacity can be increased by giving up the production of products and services that can be obtained from the civilian industry. Strengthening the technological infrastructure with modern benches will increase efficiency in modernization, modification and integration activities as well as additional capacity. The need for spare parts to be used in all these maintenance-repair services will make a separate contribution to the national economy. Such a cooperation creates an opportunity to evaluate the idle capacities of the MND Tailoring Workshops.
For the coordination and management of these activities to be carried out within the scope of Military Cooperation, the establishment of the “Foreign Relations Department” in addition to the existing 6 departments within the Ministry of National Defense General Directorate of Military Factories (AFGM) will be enough. With the new regulation made for AFGM Circulating Capital, fast and flexible working opportunity has been achieved close to Incorporated Companies. In addition to the convenience it will provide in the supply of products and services, it has facilitated the sale of products and services abroad.
This concrete proposal is written as an answer to the question of where to start. The implementation of this proposal will not consist of meeting a need of the relevant countries. It will serve as an example of cooperation in other fields and will have many benefits such as military, economic, political etc. Above all, it will be destined for Muslim countries to gain the ability to act together.
Yakup Evirgen
