Türkiye Sets Cyprus Rescue Drill and Konya Air Exercise After Denizkurdu

By Bosphorus News Defense Desk

Türkiye's Defense Ministry said on June 18 that two military exercises will begin on June 22, days after the Denizkurdu-II/2026 naval exercise ended. The new calendar places a Cyprus-linked search-and-rescue drill in the Eastern Mediterranean alongside a Türkiye-Azerbaijan-Egypt air exercise in Konya.

The Şehit Teğmen Caner Gönyeli-2026 Search and Rescue Invitation Exercise will be held on June 22-26 in the Eastern Mediterranean, including the airspace, territorial waters and land areas of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC), recognized only by Türkiye, as well as international waters inside Türkiye's search-and-rescue zone.

The ministry said the Turkish Land, Naval and Air Forces, the Gendarmerie General Command, the Coast Guard Command, the TRNC Security Forces Command and civilian institutions will take part in the drill.

The exercise follows Denizkurdu-II/2026, which put Turkish naval activity across the Black Sea, Aegean and Eastern Mediterranean into the same operational cycle. The earlier Bosphorus News file tracked the drill alongside Ankara's objections to France-Cyprus military arrangements and Turkish claims of Greek airspace harassment.

The Cyprus drill also comes days after the ministry rejected a Greek Cypriot NOTAM in the Eastern Mediterranean and said the TRNC had issued a counter-NOTAM. In the latest NOTAM dispute, Ankara tied aviation notices to Turkish Cypriot rights and Türkiye's guarantor role on the island.

The second exercise, Türkiye-Azerbaijan-Egypt Üçlü Kartal, will be hosted by the Turkish Air Force in Konya from June 22 to July 3.

The Konya drill adds Egypt to an air-training format with Türkiye and Azerbaijan after Turkish and Egyptian forces held joint air training in Egypt on June 4-17. That Türkiye-Egypt training cycle extended defence contacts between Ankara and Cairo after last year's Dostluk Denizi naval drill.

The two exercises keep Türkiye's June military calendar active after Denizkurdu. The Cyprus drill sustains Ankara's search-and-rescue position in the Eastern Mediterranean, while the Konya exercise brings Azerbaijan and Egypt into a Turkish-hosted air-training environment before the NATO summit in Ankara.

Sources: Türkiye's Defense Ministry, Bosphorus News review and reporting.