NATO spokesperson Allison Hart on Tuesday underlined Türkiye’s role in NATO, saying Türkiye is a staunch ally and valued contributor to shared security.
In a written statement to Anadolu Agency (AA) marking the anniversary of Türkiye's accession to NATO, Hart emphasized Ankara's contributions to the alliance.
"As we look forward to the next NATO Summit in Ankara in July, we are reminded today of the many ways in which Türkiye contributes to the Alliance, as it has done for 74 years since joining NATO," she said.
Hart noted that Türkiye has NATO's second-largest army and pointed to the country's "steady investment in defense," "robust defense industry" and "consistent contributions to NATO missions, activities and exercises."
Meanwhile, Naval Forces Command commander Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu also said Tuesday that the Anadolu Turkish Maritime Task Force played a significant role in NATO’s largest exercise of the year, deploying domestically produced assets.
Tatlıoğlu spoke to journalists aboard Türkiye's largest warship, TCG Anadolu, during the NATO Steadfast Dart 2026 exercise in the Baltic Sea.
"We are participating as the Anadolu Turkish Maritime Task Force with our multipurpose amphibious ship TCG Anadolu, our replenishment combat support ship TCG Derya, our first national and local frigate TCG Istanbul, and our TCG Oruçreis frigate, whose midlife modernization we carried out with national means," Tatlıoğlu said.
The admiral reported that an amphibious marine infantry battalion – armored amphibious assault vehicles capable of operating both at sea and on land, underwater offense and defense commandos, helicopters, unmanned surface vehicles, and three Bayraktar TB3 armed unmanned aerial vehicles – also participated from Türkiye.
He highlighted two key points about the exercise. First, it demonstrated the power projection capability of the Naval Forces Command, with marines and amphibious units transported over a distance of more than 8,000 kilometers (4,971 miles) aboard TCG Anadolu.
Second, the TB3 drones were used for the first time in a NATO exercise and for the first time in an amphibious operation. Tatlıoğlu noted this represents a new doctrine for NATO, marking the alliance’s first amphibious operation using UAVs.
Fifteen ships and 2,600 personnel from Türkiye, France, Poland, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain participated in the operation.
Türkiye joined NATO on Feb. 18, 1952. The alliance was founded in 1949.
Over the past 74 years, leveraging its strategic location, Türkiye has continued to make critical contributions to NATO as the first ally in the region to directly confront threats and risks, particularly in the fight against terrorism.
Among 32 allies, Türkiye ranks seventh in contributing to the alliance’s budget. Its total contribution is expected to amount to 300 million euros (just over $355 million) this year and to rise to 620 million euros in 2030.
