Turkey's move has put Greece on alert.

The Ministry of National Defense (MSB) shared a video containing images from the exercise on its official social media account, stating, "The MAVİ VATAN-2025 Exercise, which will be conducted by the Naval Forces Command between January 7-16, 2025, in the Black Sea, Aegean Sea, and Eastern Mediterranean, has begun. The press briefing for the MAVİ VATAN-2025 Exercise was held on January 6, 2025, at the Naval Warfare Center Command/Gölcük."

DEVELOPING JUDGMENT SKILLS IN A MULTI-THREAT ENVIRONMENT

The purpose of the exercise was stated to be the evaluation of the operational command and control effectiveness of the commands affiliated with the Naval Forces, the enhancement of the operational readiness levels of the participating elements, the development of judgment, foresight, and decision-making skills of the staff and participating elements in a multi-threat environment, and the testing of interoperability methods among the elements participating in the exercise with other force commands.

90 SHIPS, 50 AIRCRAFT, AND 20,000 PERSONNEL

A total of 90 ships, 50 aircraft, and 20,000 personnel will participate in the exercise. Additionally, general-purpose and CH-47 helicopters from the Land Forces Command, attack aircraft, airborne early warning and control aircraft, target towing aircraft, and 6 coast guard boats from the Coast Guard Command will also participate in the exercise.

TURKS CHALLENGE AFTER 3 YEARS

On the other hand, the Mavi Vatan-2025 Exercise received extensive coverage in the Greek media. CNN Greece reported the exercise with the headline, "Mavi Vatan: Turks challenge the Aegean with their first major exercise after three years." The news indicated that Greece was calmly and closely monitoring the exercise, noting that Turkey had made a significant challenge in the Aegean.

ATTENTION WAS DRAWN TO MITSOTAKIS' VISIT

The report pointed out that the timing of the exercise was also significant from Athens' perspective. It was noted that the exercise took place before Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis' planned visit to Ankara in February.