04.08.2026 15:42
The decisions of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ), convened under the chairmanship of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, have been announced. In line with the decisions taken, General Rafet Dalkıran was appointed as the Commander of the Air Force, which was expected to change, while the term of office of Admiral Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, the Commander of the Naval Forces, was extended by one year.
The decisions taken at the 2026 Supreme Military Council meeting held at the Presidential Complex were officially approved with the endorsement of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. Within the scope of the decisions, a significant change occurred in the top command level of the Turkish Armed Forces.
AIR FORCE COMMANDER CHANGED Air Force Commander General Ziya Cemal Kadıoglu was retired due to lack of cadre, while General Rafet Dalkiran, Commander of the Combat Air Force, was appointed as the Air Force Commander. The term of office of Naval Forces Commander Admiral Ercument Tatlioglu was extended by 1 year.
General Rafet Dalkiran RANK PROMOTIONS AND TERM EXTENSIONS IN THE TAF Effective as of August 30, 2026, a total of 25 generals and admirals in the Turkish Armed Forces were promoted to a higher rank, and 69 colonels were promoted to the ranks of general and admiral. Within the scope of cadre arrangements, the terms of office of 24 generals were extended by 1 year, and the terms of 530 colonels were extended by 2 years. It was stated that with these decisions, the number of generals and admirals, currently 328, will increase to 334 as of August 30, 2026.
There were also significant developments among those promoted to higher ranks. From the Air Force Command, Lieutenant General Erdogan Gur was promoted to General. From the Land Forces Command, Major Generals Burhan Aktas, Ertan Inaltekin and Alparslan Kilinc, and from the Air Force Command, Major General Kemal Turan were promoted to Lieutenant General. In the Naval Forces Command, Rear Admirals Ramazan Ozogul and Erhan Aydin were the senior commanders promoted to Vice Admiral.
In the Land Forces Command, Brigadier Generals Sukru Bilir, Mustafa Buyukkoroglu, Ismail Ozcan, Sener Kopal, Ahmet Asik, Bulent Tanriverdi, Mehmet Acik, Mustafa Yeter, Coskun Celik, Omer Sahin Selvi, Yuksel Kolcu, Ismail Anali and Hakan Durmazpinar were promoted to Major General.
From the Naval Forces Command, Rear Admirals Erhan Akbayrak, Yucel Darcan, Eren Gunay and Kenan Kaan Turkkan were promoted to Rear Admiral (Upper Half); from the Air Force Command, Brigadier General Cihangir Kemal Yuzcelik was promoted to Major General.
THOSE RETIRED According to the meeting decisions, 2 generals were retired due to age limit as of September 1, 2026, and 61 generals and admirals were retired due to lack of cadre as of August 30, 2026.
WHO IS RAFET DALKIRAN? Rafet Dalkiran, appointed as the Air Force Commander, graduated from the Air Force Academy in 1988.
Dalkiran was promoted to the rank of Brigadier General in 2015.
Rafet Dalkiran will serve as the Air Force Commander starting from August 30.