Erdogan Plans to Boost Turkey’s Missile Power for Safety

Post by : Bianca Suleiman

Photo: AP

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that Turkey will work on making more medium- and long-range missiles. His goal is to make sure no other country dares to attack Turkey. This plan comes at a time when the war between Israel and Iran is getting worse.

Erdogan spoke with German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on the phone. During their talk, Erdogan said that the problem with Iran’s nuclear program should be solved through peaceful talks, not fighting.

Even though Turkey has had tense relations with Israel, experts say that Turkey is not in danger right now. But some people believe Erdogan’s missile plan shows that the conflict between Israel and Iran might cause other countries in the area to start building more weapons too.

Israel’s army did not respond to Erdogan’s missile plans. However, Israeli Foreign Minister Gideon Saar posted on social media that Erdogan has “imperialist dreams” and accused him of taking away people’s rights and freedoms in Turkey.

Ahmet Kasim Han, a professor from Istanbul, said Turkey is reacting to a world that seems more dangerous now. He believes Turkey wants to catch up in military technology, especially in air weapons, where the U.S. and Israel are already very advanced.

Erdogan said after a Cabinet meeting that Turkey is planning to grow its missile supplies to make the country stronger. “With God’s help, we will soon have a defense system that’s so strong that no one will even think about threatening us,” he said.

He also praised Turkey’s progress in building its own military tools—like drones, fighter jets, and navy ships—but added that more work is needed to be fully safe.

An expert from the German Marshall Fund, Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, said that even though Turkey has the second largest army in NATO, its air defense is weaker. Because the current war has shown how important air strength is, Turkey is now trying to improve that.

Erdogan has been busy calling world leaders like U.S. President Donald Trump and Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. He says he wants to help bring back peace talks about Iran’s nuclear plans.

Turkey is also worried that if the war continues, it could face problems like energy shortages or refugees coming from Iran. Turkey shares a long border with Iran and buys much of its oil and gas from there. If oil prices go up, it could make Turkey’s economy worse.

Erdogan has criticized Israel strongly, saying that Iran has the right to defend itself, especially since peace talks were happening when Israel attacked.

Turkey and Israel used to be close, but their relationship became worse after the 2023 war in Gaza. Erdogan has become one of the biggest critics of Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu.

Things also got tense between them when Syria’s leader, Bashar Assad, lost power. Israel became worried that Turkey was trying to have more control in Syria.

Earlier this year, Turkey and Israel agreed on a plan to avoid clashing in Syria. This came after Israeli jets bombed a Syrian air base that Turkey was interested in using.

A Turkish political leader, Devlet Bahceli, claimed that Israel might try to attack Turkey and is surrounding the country. However, experts say that these comments were made mostly to get support from people in Turkey, where many are angry with Israel.

Ahmet Han, the professor, added, “I don’t think Israel wants to fight Turkey. And Turkey doesn’t want a fight with Israel either.”