Just replace the weapons with training "Shapes" on the quiet.

https://www.dailysabah.com/defense/2...ghter-jet-sale

Turkey, Russia close to reaching agreement on Su-35 fighter jet sale

Turkey is close to reaching a deal with Moscow over the purchase of Su-35 fighter jets as well as co-manufacturing some components of the Russian-made jets, Turkish sources said Friday.

Turkish and Russian officials are discussing the details of the sale of a total of 36 Su-35 fighter jets to Turkey, two months after President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's visit to the International Aviation and Space Salon (MAKS) aviation show outside of Moscow. Sources added that officials are also discussing Turkey's possible involvement in the production of some components of the fighter jets, including its precision weapons and ammunition......

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/g...ibya-hpzcdgkk5

Greece fears Turkish encroachment over oil exploration deal with Libya

Greece has accused Turkey of breaching international law after Ankara signed a Mediterranean oil and gas exploration agreement with Libya.

The deal, which threatens to vastly extend Turkey’s claimed rights over the Mediterranean, follows an agreement last week for Ankara to supply weaponry to the internationally recognised Libyan government in Tripoli, which is involved in a military struggle with forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar for control of the country.

Greece fears that the exploration deal encompasses uninterrupted territory running from Turkey’s southern shore all the way to the coast of Libya, encroaching on areas close to the islands of Rhodes and Crete over which Athens claims exclusive economic rights.

“It is illegal and absurd because it ignores the presence of islands like Crete,” Nikos Dendias, the Greek foreign minister, said. “Greece cannot and will not relinquish its sovereignty. We will respond to any attempt [Turkey] makes to encroach these rights. Our military capabilities are robust,” he told Skai, a television network based in Athens.

Greece has accused Turkey of breaching international law after Ankara signed a Mediterranean oil and gas exploration agreement with Libya.

The deal, which threatens to vastly extend Turkey’s claimed rights over the Mediterranean, follows an agreement last week for Ankara to supply weaponry to the internationally recognised Libyan government in Tripoli, which is involved in a military struggle with forces loyal to Khalifa Haftar for control of the country.

Greece fears that the exploration deal encompasses uninterrupted territory running from Turkey’s southern shore all the way to the coast of Libya, encroaching on areas close to the islands of Rhodes and Crete over which Athens claims exclusive economic rights.

“It is illegal and absurd because it ignores the presence of islands like Crete,” Nikos Dendias, the Greek foreign minister, said. “Greece cannot and will not relinquish its sovereignty. We will respond to any attempt [Turkey] makes to encroach these rights. Our military capabilities are robust,” he told Skai, a television network based in Athens......

https://breakingdefense.com/2019/12/...-eucom-deputy/

Pull US Troops Out if Turkey: Former EUCOM Deputy

.....When asked about growing concerns about the safety of these nuclear weapons in light of deteriorating U.S.-Turkey ties, former Air Force Secretary Deborah Lee James noted that – hypothetically – if such weapons did require relocation, removing them from Incirlik would be a “complicated operation [that] would require negotiations with the [new host] nation.” Nevertheless, the United States should prioritize moving these weapons to a more stable and secure European facility, such as Aviano Air Base, Italy. There is simply no longer a strategic necessity for maintaining a nuclear arsenal in Turkey as the United States has other nuclear forces available for deterring Russia.

Second, Washington should relocate the 39th Air Wing and its various support functions; Cyprus and Greece are excellent alternatives. For the former, its Akrotiri Air Base is already home to the United Kingdom’s Royal Air Force and it has runways and facilities akin to Incirlik; moreover, it is still near the Middle Eastern theatre but has the added advantage of being located on European soil. Choosing Cyprus would send Turkey a clear message that the United States is a no longer prepared to tolerate Turkey’s illegal oil exploration and naval harassment within the Cypriot exclusive economic zone.......

Of course, it's not just a simple matter of moving the devices from one location to another. In Greece I'd anticipate huge civil unrest if the US proposed to move then there - with a pro-Soviet Russian government to boot. Secondly, going to the SBA in Cyprus would require NSC and then Parliamentary approval, quite apart from the infrastructure efforts that would be needed to house the weapons in a SSA and accommodate the aircraft that could carry them.

Moreover it would cause both sides on the island of Cyprus to become (more) enraged and jointly target the British presence. This is in addition to pissing off the Turks, with whom we still have a good working relationship at diplomatic and military levels. Added to that, there would be huge agitation from the very pro Russian government in the Republic of Cyprus.

Furthermore there is no question of Russian troops or aircraft based in Turkey; during the coup attempt in July 2016 it was the Turkish Base Cdr (BGen Van) who rebelled against the government and was dragged from the US Base Cdr's office by MİT officers. The US Colonel had served on 1 Sqn on exchange about 15 years ago - 'Red' for those who might remember him. The US and Turkish perimeter around the SSA remained secure.

Of course the US and Turkey have clashed over nukes before. One of the secret protocols agreed after the Cuban missile crises was to withdraw the jointly US/Turkish manned Jupiter Missile batteries. The US withdrew the nuclear tipped missiles without telling the HN, who were justifiably cross, and it soured relations for a good decade.

There is no suggestion in the article of moving the nuclear weapons to Cyprus, only the 39th AW.

You may want to consider what their mission is.

I agree - there is no suggestion the B-61s would go to Cyprus.

The 39th Air Wing comprises a lot more than the 39th Weapons System Security Group which is the only element that would go with the weapons and be reassigned to another USAF wing or HN base.

The balance of 39th Air Wing is either to do with providing mission support to transit / deployed aircraft (39th Mission Support Group) or the hospital (39th Medical Group).

Furthermore, the former RAF SSA at Akrotiri is derelict and a non-starter - and off-base with self-evident unacceptable outload security implications compared to modus operandi with WS3.

I would imagine that the B-61s would only remain in the European theatre if a HN that had a base with spare WS3 in HASs would be willing to accept them.

Unlike the B-61s in the other NATO countries, those remaining at Incirlik now are for US aircraft.

The ideal reallocation would be to a US air base - kind of narrows the choice - Ramstein (for aircraft deployed into spare HAS in crisis) or Lakenheath (for F-15E now - F-35A later) - there are plenty of spare WS3 slots around (100 at Lakenheath alone) that could be up and running pretty quickly.

Both those options would probably have civilian NIMBYs up in arms (pun intended) - so the B-61s might have to go back to the USA.

https://fas.org/blogs/security/2019/...out-of-turkey/

https://www.incirlik.af.mil/Units/39th-Air-Base-Wing/

The ideal reallocation would be to a US air base - kind of narrows the choice - Ramstein (for aircraft deployed into spare HAS in crisis) or Lakenheath (for F-15E now - F-35A later) - there are plenty of spare WS3 slots around (100 at Lakenheath alone) that could be up and running pretty quickly.

Wasn't it stated on another thread that F35 is not nuclear capable, hence the Germans had to reject it as a Tornado replacement?

Currently undergoing certification.

https://www.upi.com/Defense-News/201...9711542377314/

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/turkey-protects-disputed-mediterranean-oil-and-gas-drilling-with-armed-drones-jgmtknw9f

Turkey protects disputed Mediterranean oil and gas drilling with armed drones

Armed Turkish drones will be launched from northern Cyprus today to assist Ankara’s drill ships surveying the eastern Mediterranean for oil and gas, it was announced yesterday...... It remains unclear how many unmanned aerial vehicles will be mobilised from Cyprus in the operation, according to the Turkish news agency Demiroren.

The move may further aggravate Ankara’s already tense relations with the European Union and its neighbours over energy resources in the Mediterranean.

In a statement issued at the weekend, the Turkish Cypriot leader Mustafa Akinci said that his cabinet had authorised use of the Gecitkale airbase in line with Ankara’s decision to expand its drilling operations in the region. The statement added that the drones would “protect the legitimate rights” of Turkey and northern Cyprus, a breakaway state that only Ankara recognises.

Turkey began seeking oil and gas off the coast of Cyprus this year, dispatching two drill ships and an exploration vessel to the contested region. A recently agreed deal with Libya to section off part of the eastern Mediterranean, cutting through waters recognised as the sovereign territory of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus, has served to ratchet up tension in the area.

Angered by the deal, Athens expelled the Libyan ambassador last week. It also rallied its EU partners in condemning the maritime accord as “illicit”........

Greece and Turkey, which are Nato allies, have long been at loggerheads over air, sea and territorial rights, coming to the brink of war in 1996 over a barren islet in the Aegean Sea. Greece has on three occasions intercepted ships supplying weapons to the government in Tripoli.

In a recent interview, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, the Greek defence minister, said that if it came to a fight with Turkey “we shall not wait for anyone to come and help us. Whatever we do, we shall do alone.”

Armed Turkish drone lands in Cyprus as regional tensions rise
 

In The Guardian.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/turkey-could-shut-nato-airbase-if-us-imposes-sanctions-jzzlt3pmp

Turkey could shut Nato airbase if US imposes sanctions

President Erdogan warned that he may shut down the main Nato airbase in Turkey, as increasingly toxic relations between Ankara and Washington threatened the home of US nuclear bombers in the region.

Mr Erdogan made the comments about the Incirlik base, where 5,000 US personnel are based along with 50 nuclear warheads, during a televised interview last night. He also warned that the Kurecik radar station in the eastern province of Malatya could be closed to the US military.

It came after US senators approved a package of sanctions against Turkey in response to Ankara’s purchase of the Russian-made S400 missile-defence system, and separately passed a resolution recognising the mass deportations and killings of Armenians in Anatolia in 1915 as a genocide.

“If it is necessary for us to take such a step, of course we have the authority . . . If this is necessary, together with our delegations, we will close down Incirlik if necessary,” Mr Erdogan told a panel of journalists from a news group part-owned by his in-laws. “If they are threatening us with the implementation of these sanctions, of course we will be retaliating.”.....

I would have thought the only credible/politically possible European alternative for B61’s would be RAF Lakenheath or RAF Fairford.

It wouldn’t absolute amaze me to discover that they have already been moved out of Turkey.

WWW

Ramstein seems to the only place with both the in-situ security teams and the most surplus vaults.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/greece-buys-armed-drones-to-challenge-turkey-in-eastern-mediterannean-wj0qg0d5w

Greece buys armed drones to challenge Turkey in eastern Mediterannean

Greece is to buy a fleet of American and Israeli armed drones which could be used against similar Turkish assets already deployed to the eastern Mediterranean as Ankara prepares to exploit extensive oil and gasfields under the sea.

Athens is buying three US drones and two others from Israel. Nikos Panagiotopoulos, the defence minister, told parliament last night that the drones could be used to “immobilise” their hostile Turkish counterparts in the event that they enter Greek airspace. “Rules of engagement have already been charted by [our] country’s armed forces . . . to confront potential threats to our sovereignty . . . including [action] to immobilise Turkish drones,” he said.......

The deployment of a new drone to northern Cyprus, a state recognised only by Ankara, has unnerved Greece. Tensions between the two countries intensified after Turkey and Libya agreed this month to carve up part of the eastern Mediterranean, waters recognised as sovereign territory of Greece and the Republic of Cyprus......

The deal between Tripoil and Ankara, which the EU and other regional neighbours have declared illegal, has put Greece’s armed forces on heightened alert. But it has also sparked a rift between the civilian and military leaders in Athens over how to respond to Turkey’s exploration plans in the eastern Mediterranean. Ankara has said it will plunder oil and gasfields off the coast of Greece’s biggest and wealthiest island Crete.

Mr Panagiotopoulos today sought to ease such concerns insisting that the country was both capable and prepared to “do whatever it takes to defend its national sovereignty”.

https://www.theguardian.com/world/20...-mediterranean

France to send warships to support Greece in Turkish standoff

Greece’s prime minister, Kyriakos Mitsotakis, has welcomed a decision by France to dispatch war frigates to the eastern Mediterranean as a standoff with Turkey over regional energy reserves intensifies.

With tensions between Athens and Ankara causing growing international alarm, Mitsotakis described the vessels as “guarantors of peace.” “The only way to end differences in the eastern Mediterranean is through international justice,” he told reporters after holding talks in Paris with the French president, Emmanuel Macron. “Greece and France are pursuing a new framework of strategic defence.”.......

The Gallic-Greek alliance cements what officials in Athens are calling a renewed diplomatic push to counter Turkish belligerence in the Mediterranean.

Greece’s defence minister, Nikos Panagiotopoulos, this week went as far as to warn that armed forces were “examining all scenarios, even that of military engagement” in the face of heightened aggression from Ankara. Rejecting Turkish demands that Greece demilitarise 16 Aegean islands, he accused Turkey of displaying unusually provocative behaviour.

The demand, made last week by his Turkish counterpart, Hulusi Akar, follows a dramatic surge in recent months in the number of violations of Greek airspace by Turkish fighter jets. “Greece does not provoke, does not violate the sovereign rights of others, but it doesn’t like to see its own rights violated,” said Panagiotopoulos.

Tensions between the Nato allies prompted Donald Trump to take the unprecedented step of voicing concerns over the situation in a telephone call with the Turkish president, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, on Monday......

https://news.sky.com/story/hagia-sop...iumph-12025607

Hagia Sophia: Istanbul monument to become a mosque again as Turkish Islamic conservatives triumph


Hagia Sophia has witnessed many upheavals in its 1,500 year history, evolving from a cathedral to a mosque, then a museum. In a landmark decision, Turkey's high court has ruled that its conversion into a museum in 1934 was unlawful - paving the way for the most visited monument in the country to be converted back to an Islamic place of worship.

The move, which threatens to upset Christians around the world, is not about creating more space for prayer as Istanbul has more than 3,000 mosques. Rather, the decision reflects the wider societal struggle within Turkey between secularism and President Erdogan's religious conservatism.

The usual crowd of tourists was absent as the announcement came, but the predominantly Turkish media gathered outside Hagia Sophia.
Turkish officials have said opening Hagia Sophia to prayer will not stop tourists from visiting the site and have offered reassurance that the building's Christian icons will be preserved. However, historian Zeynep Ahunbay, who has worked on the conservation of Hagia Sophia for 27 years, doesn't see how that will be possible.

https://www.politico.eu/article/azer...haky-alliance/

Caucasus skirmish pits Russia against Turkey, straining shaky alliance

https://www.snafu-solomon.com/2020/0...erbaijani.html

Armenian army destroys 4 Azerbaijani armored vehicles...we are entering a period of many small wars globally

https://www.politico.eu/article/germ...harms-eu-ties/

Greek PM warns Turkey over Eastern Mediterranean survey

ATHENS — The EU will have no choice but to impose sanctions if Turkey continues to create tensions in the Eastern Mediterranean, Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis warned Tuesday.

Greek armed forces were placed on alert, as Turkey announced plans for a seismic survey south and east of the Greek island of Kastellorizo from July 21-August 2. Some military personnel were told that summer leave would be suspended, according to Greek officials, while the chief of the Greek armed forces, Konstantinos Floros, has expedited his return from Cyprus.

“Greece is monitoring all developments with confidence, assuredness and absolute readiness,” Mitsotakis said at a press conference with Germany's Foreign Minister Heiko Maas in Athens. The Greek embassy in Ankara sent a complaint to the Turkish foreign ministry, according to the Greek foreign ministry. Greek authorities also said they have raised the issue to the EU, NATO and the United Nations Security Council.

“Today's announcement of Turkey's surveys in a section of the Greek continental shelf, through a new illegal Navtex [navigational warning] constitutes an escalation of the tension in our region,” the Greek foreign ministry said in a statement. “It highlights Turkey's persistence in violating international legality and its complete contempt for International Law, the International Law of the Sea, the rules governing good neighborly relations and the urgings of the European Union.”

Greek Defense Minister Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos briefed U.S. Defense Secretary Mark Esper about the latest developments in the Mediterranean over the phone. Panagiotopoulos told Esper that Greek navy ships were in the area and “Greece is prepared to defend its sovereign rights if necessary,” according to a statement issued by the ministry.

“The United States is aware that Turkey has issued a Navtex for research in disputed waters in the Eastern Mediterranean,” the U.S. State Department said. “We urge Turkish authorities to halt any plans for operations and to avoid steps that raise tensions in the region.”

Greece and Turkey are at odds over a number of issues, including Ankara's plan to push ahead with exploration work in contested waters. The bloc's foreign policy chief Josep Borrell warned last week that Turkey's exploration work ran "counter to EU interest, to the sovereign rights of EU member states and to international law."

Germany’s Maas also warned Turkey Tuesday that it needs to stop exploratory drilling for hydrocarbons in the Eastern Mediterranean if it wants to improve relations with the EU.

“Regarding Turkey’s drilling in the Eastern Mediterranean, we have a very clear position — international law must be respected so progress in EU-Turkey relations is only possible if Ankara stops provocations in the Eastern Mediterranean,” said Maas, who chairs regular meetings of EU foreign ministers under Germany's Council of the EU presidency.

“The illegal and provocative behavior of Turkey has a serious backlash not only to peace and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean but to the cohesion of NATO and to its relations with the European Union,” said Greek Foreign Minister Nikos Dendias following talks with Maas.

Earlier this month, Turkey's Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu wrote in an opinion piece for POLITICO that his government was open to dialogue but would continue its exploration work to "protect our national interests and the equal rights of Turkish Cypriots."