14.02.2026 19:23
The Turkish army made a significant impact at the NATO exercise Steadfast Dart 26 held in Germany. The images of the Turkish navy docking at Germany's Kiel Port drew attention.
This year's largest NATO exercise, Steadfast Dart 26, took place in Germany, with Turkey standing out in the organization. The disciplined appearance of Turkish soldiers particularly impressed the Germans, while the Turkish navy made a significant impact on the event.
THE TURKISH NAVY DOCKED IN GERMANY
Ships belonging to the Turkish navy docked at Germany's Kiel Port. Moments when the Turkish flag was raised on military vessels drew attention.
"THE TURKISH ARMY'S STRATEGIC MIND WINS"
The Ministry of National Defense also stated on its social media account regarding the exercise: "The Turkish army; Its power deters, its agility knows no bounds, and its strategic mind wins!
Our Turkish Armed Forces, deployed to Germany with 2,000 personnel for the Steadfast Dart-2026 Exercise, successfully fulfills every task assigned to it as an effective, respected, and deterrent force."
"THE TURKISH ARMY PROVIDED THE LARGEST CONTRIBUTION BY A WIDE MARGIN"
On the other hand, General Ingo Gerhartz, Commander of NATO's Joint Forces Headquarters in the Netherlands, who is overseeing the exercise, recently praised the contribution of the Turkish Armed Forces to the exercise in an interview with BBC Turkish.
Gerhartz stated that the Turkish army provided "the largest contribution by a wide margin" to this year's exercise, along with the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu and its accompanying task force and land forces that reached Germany's Emden Port.
2,000 TURKISH SOLDIERS IN THE EXERCISE
The Turkish Armed Forces sent approximately 2,000 soldiers, which are the forces in question, to Germany, located about 6,450 kilometers away from its borders.
Images of soldiers from the 66th Mechanized Infantry Brigade participating in the exercise, featuring armored vehicles and equipment with Turkish flags in Germany, are particularly resonating on social media. Turkey plays a significant role in this exercise as it will assume the Amphibious Task Force Command and Landing Force Command within the ARF framework under NATO commitments on July 1, 2025.
In this context, in addition to the amphibious assault ship TCG Anadolu, which is part of the Anadolu Naval Task Group, the logistics support ship TCG Derya, and the frigates TCG Istanbul and TCG Oruçreis are also participating in the exercise.