Turkey launched its first Turkish-made observation satellite “İMECE” from Vandenberg Air Force Base in California, into space.

Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and the head of the Turkish Space Technology Research Institute “TUBITAK” Professor Hassan Mandal participated in the launch ceremony from the institute’s observation station in Turkey.

The moon was launched using a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket.

The satellite “İMECE” will satisfy Turkey’s need for high-resolution images in a sun-synchronous orbit at an altitude of 680 km.

The Turkish satellite can capture images from all over the world without geographical restrictions, as it will serve Turkey in many fields such as target detection and diagnosis, natural disasters, mapping and agricultural applications.

The design service life of the satellite is planned to be 5 years, as a space-compatible electro-optical camera was designed and produced for the first time in Turkey.

The “İMECE” satellite can capture an image of an area 1,000 km long and 16.73 km wide at once and can download the images to the ground station at a total data rate of 320 MB/s.

The weight of the satellite, which was launched from the US Vandenberg base, is about 700 kilograms.

It is worth noting that the launch of the Turkish satellite “İMECE” was postponed 3 times due to weather conditions.

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that his country will launch the first high-precision observation satellite (İMECE), produced with local and national capabilities, into space on April 11.

This came in a statement published by Erdogan on his social media sites on Sunday.

Erdogan made it clear that Turkey will continue its efforts to stay in the global space race thanks to its trained human resources, the opportunities it offers and the technologies it develops.

The High Precision Observation Satellite (İMECE) was developed by the Turkish Space Technology Research Institute (TUBITAK).

It is scheduled that the satellite launch ceremony will be organized the day after tomorrow, Tuesday, at the institute’s headquarters in the capital, Ankara, with the participation of President Erdogan, via video conferencing technology, and Ministers of Defense Hulusi Akar and Minister of Industry and Technology Mustafa Varank.

The weight of the satellite, which will be launched from the US Vandenberg base, is about 700 kilograms.

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Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos expressed his desire for continued rapprochement in Turkish-Greek relations.

In a statement to the Greek newspaper Ta Nea, Panagiotopoulos said that he enjoyed “excellent hospitality and a sincere and positive family atmosphere” during his visit to Turkey last Tuesday.

Panagiotopoulos stated that he met Defense Minister Hulusi Akar to improve the atmosphere of bilateral relations.

Panagiotopoulos noted that Tuesday’s visit was the first by a Greek defense minister to Turkey in 20 years.

And he indicated that during his meeting with Akar, the need to calm tensions at the negotiating table and limit maneuvers outside the predetermined international maneuvers was discussed.

The Greek minister stressed that it is possible to increase cooperation between the two countries in combating problems such as climate change, fires and earthquakes.

He pointed out that the catastrophe of the earthquake that struck Turkey on February 6 created a “window of opportunity” with regard to bilateral relations, stressing by saying: “We need to take advantage of this opportunity.”

Panagiotopoulos visited the Turkish state of Hatay last Tuesday at the invitation of his counterpart Akar.

On February 6, two earthquakes of magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 struck southern Turkey and northern Syria, followed by thousands of violent aftershocks, resulting in thousands of deaths and great destruction.​​​​​​​​​​​

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Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar agreed with his Greek counterpart Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos to develop an agenda based on good neighborly relations between the two countries.

This came during a phone call between them on Thursday, according to a statement by the Turkish Ministry of Defense.

The Greek minister renewed his country’s condolences to Turkey for the devastating earthquake disaster on February 6.

In turn, Akar thanked his Greek counterpart for the message of condolence he sent after the earthquake and the solidarity that Athens showed with Ankara after the disaster.

Akar also offered his country’s condolences to Greece for the victims of a two-train collision in early March, which claimed the lives of 57 people.

The statement stated that the talks between the two ministers took place in a constructive and positive atmosphere, and that they agreed to develop an agenda based on good neighborly relations between the two countries.

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On Sunday, Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar inspected the mobile field hospital built by the Turkish army in Kahramanmaraş, following the double earthquake that struck the south of the country at dawn on February 6.

Akar was accompanied on his inspection tour by the Chief of the General Staff of the Turkish Army, Yasar Guler.

Akar received information about the progress of the hospital’s work from those in charge of its administration, and congratulated the medical staff for their efforts.

Akar said in a statement during the tour: “Our great pain, our army, stood by our people from the first moments of the earthquake to heal the wounds, and I am confident that we will overcome these difficulties.”

Akar also thanked the Azerbaijani medical staff, who are participating with Turkish doctors in treating the injured as a result of the earthquake.

He said, “We are together in good times and bad. Long live the existing brotherhood between Turkey and Azerbaijan.”

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Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Saturday that 25,067 members of the armed forces are working in the earthquake zone.

During his visit to the state of Adana, Akar, accompanied by Chief of Staff Yasar Guler, inspected the progress of work within the framework of the “air assistance corridor” launched by the ministry following the earthquake to transport personnel and equipment to the affected areas.

He also held a meeting via videoconference, in which the commanders of units operating in the earthquake zone participated, and received a briefing on the latest situation with regard to field work and activities.

Akar added, “So far, we have carried out 707 sorties with 63 aircraft, transporting 9,780 specialized personnel and 625 tons of supplies.”

He pointed out that the planes that transport personnel and equipment transport the injured and citizens who wish to leave the affected areas during their return.

He also referred to the allocation of helicopters belonging to the armed forces to transport personnel and equipment as well.

He explained that 57 multi-purpose helicopters were collected at the Incirlik base in Adana and allocated to serve the areas affected by the earthquake.

He reported that 710 helicopter sorties had been conducted so far.

On the other hand, Minister Akar pointed out that there are 24 ships operating within the framework of the “naval aid corridor”.​​​​​​​​​

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Azerbaijani Defense Minister Zakir Hasanov said Thursday that Turkish defense industries have played a major role in strengthening his country’s army forces.

This came in a speech during his participation in the activities of the “Distinguished Observer Day” on the sidelines of the “Winter 2023 maneuvers” in the presence of Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar and Georgian Minister of Defense Juansher Burchuladze in the Turkish state of Kars.

Hasanov explained that his country is participating in the maneuvers with 70 soldiers and 23 military vehicles, and that Azerbaijan and Turkey participate annually in many maneuvers, and that they are planned to participate in more than 10 maneuvers during the year 2023.

He pointed out that his country stands by Turkey in its struggle against terrorism, and pointed out that Turkey stands by Azerbaijan in liberating the Karabakh region after 30 years of Armenian occupation.

And he added that the bilateral cooperation relations between the two countries are constantly witnessing a rise in all fields, expressing his appreciation for the Turkish Armed Forces for rehabilitating and training members of the Azerbaijani army.

He added that the Turkish defense industries played a major role in strengthening the strength of the Azerbaijani army, expressing his gratitude for the great successes achieved by Turkish defense products worldwide in recent years.

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Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar discussed with his Azerbaijani counterpart Zakir Hasanov and Georgian Janshir Borchuladze cooperation in the field of military exercises between their countries.

This came in a tripartite meeting that included Akar, Hasanov and Borchuladze on Wednesday in Kars, eastern Turkey.

The meeting took place within the framework of the “Winter 2023” military exercises, which began on January 18th.

The ministers exchanged views on training and military cooperation between the three countries, as well as discussing regional developments.

Tomorrow, Thursday, Akar, Hasanov and Borchuladze will attend the “Distinguished Observer Day” activities in the framework of the winter maneuvers.

The military maneuvers, which are considered the largest in the history of the Turkish Republic, continue under the supervision and management of the Ninth Corps Command of the Turkish Armed Forces.

One thousand and 758 soldiers from 17 countries, most notably Germany, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Britain, are participating in the maneuvers.

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Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson said that Stockholm is committed to the tripartite memorandum of understanding concluded with Turkey in order for his country and Finland to join NATO.

On Wednesday, Johnson gave an explanation to the European Parliament’s Security and Defense Subcommittee on his country’s priorities in the European Union Presidency in the capital, Brussels.

At the end of the presentation, Johnson answered the questions of his country’s journalists, while avoiding answering the reporter’s questions regarding the burning of the Qur’an in Stockholm.

In his answers, Johnson touched on the file of his country’s membership in NATO, where he stated that Sweden continues to abide by the tripartite memorandum of understanding with Turkey and Finland.

On June 28, 2022, Turkey, Sweden and Finland signed a memorandum of understanding regarding the accession of the latter two countries to NATO, after they pledged to respond to Ankara’s demands regarding cooperation in the fight against terrorism.

He pointed to the continuation of military agreements between his country and NATO, adding, “I was scheduled to hold an interview with the Turkish Defense Minister (Hulusi Akar) soon, but that was canceled, and I hope that we will go back to holding meetings again.”

Johnson claimed that Turkey, Finland and Sweden continue to adhere to the tripartite memorandum, stressing: “We want to join NATO and I think we will achieve that.”

He expressed his confidence that Sweden’s membership in NATO will increase the strength of the alliance as well as increase stability in Europe and the European Union.

And on Saturday, the leader of the Danish far-right “hard line” party, Rasmus Paludan, burned a copy of the Qur’an near the Turkish embassy in Stockholm, amid tight police protection, which prevented anyone from approaching him while he was committing the provocative act.

On January 11, a group of supporters of the “BKK” terrorist organization organized a demonstration, in which a doll resembling President Erdogan was suspended from its foot on a pole in front of the municipal building in Stockholm.

Accounts linked to the terrorist organization published scenes of the doll with threatening phrases in the Turkish language targeting Turkey and its president, Erdogan.

As a result, Turkey summoned the Swedish ambassador, Staffan Herstrom, to the headquarters of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to inform him of its condemnation of the provocative act.

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Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar announced the cancellation of his Swedish counterpart Pal Johnson’s scheduled visit to Ankara on January 27.

The cancellation of the visit comes against the backdrop of the Swedish authorities’ failure to take action against the provocations of the supporters of the “BKK/YPG” terrorist organization and allowing them to burn a copy of the Holy Quran.

This came in a statement made by the Turkish minister to reporters following the “Ukrainian Defense Contact Group meeting” held at Ramstein Air Base in Germany on Friday.

Akar criticized Sweden’s failure to take action against the provocations of the terrorist “BKK / YBG” supporters and its permission to burn a copy of the Holy Qur’an in Stockholm.

And he stressed that “at this stage, Swedish Defense Minister Pal Johnson’s visit to Turkey on January 27 lost its importance and meaning, so we canceled it.”

He stressed the need to implement the provisions of the tripartite memorandum signed in Madrid last June between Turkey, Sweden and Finland, indicating that “our only request is to fulfill the obligations contained in the memorandum, and we expect Sweden and Finland to fulfill their roles and duties.”

He recalled the provocations of supporters of the “PKK/YPG” terrorist organization in Sweden against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Turkey, and the news that the Swedish police allowed demonstrations in front of the Ankara embassy in Stockholm to burn a copy of the Holy Quran.

Akar added, “It is unacceptable that Sweden remains inactive and does nothing against these people. The necessary measures had to be taken.”

He indicated that he conveyed his country’s reaction on this issue to Swedish Defense Minister Johnson, who met with him within the framework of the “Ukrainian defense contact group meeting.”

And he added, “Unfortunately, the Swedish authorities did not take any action against the despicable and heinous provocations against Turkey and its president, and the visit of Swedish Defense Minister Johnson to Turkey on January 27 at this stage has no significance or meaning, so we canceled the visit.”

On the sidelines of the meeting, Akar met with NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg before the meeting.

Later, Akar met with his British counterparts Ben Wallace, Polish Mariusz Blaszczak, Dutch Defense Minister Kajsa Olongren, and also met with Italian Defense Minister Guido Crocito.

He also met Germany’s new defense minister, Boris Pistorius, and his counterparts, the American Lloyd Austin, the Finnish Mikko Savola, the Romanian Angel Telvar and the Ukrainian Oleksiy Reznikov.

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