Baku, May 12, AZERTAC

The Distinguished Visitors Day of the “Anatolian Eagle - 2023” international flight-tactical exercises has been held in the Turkish city of Konya, Azerbaijan`s Ministry of Defense told AZERTAC.

At the invitation of Minister of National Defense of the Republic of Türkiye Hulusi Akar, Minister of Defense of the Republic of Azerbaijan, Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and Deputy Minister of Defense - Commander of the Air Force, Lieutenant General Ramiz Tahirov, who are on a visit to the fraternal country, arrived in Konya to participate in the Distinguished Visitors Day of the international exercises.

With the participation of the honor guard, a solemn welcome ceremony of the Azerbaijani delegation was held in the area, where the exercises are being conducted, and a photo was taken.

Then, the opening of the Anatolian Eagle Training Center was held.

Colonel General Zakir Hasanov and other guests met with representatives of ASELSAN and Tubitak companies at the exhibition and got acquainted with modern weapons and equipment on display.

In the briefing hall, the guests were presented with a video made on the basis of the images taken during the "Anatolian Eagle - 2023" international flight-tactical exercises.

Distinguished visitors were presented a briefing about the course of joint exercises and the tasks accomplished.

After the briefing, the defense ministers of Azerbaijan and Türkiye delivered speeches.

Colonel General Zakir Hasanov greeted the military personnel participating in the exercises and prayed for the repose of the souls of the servicemen, who became martyrs, and the people, who died as a result of the earthquake.

The Minister of Defense noted that Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are being successfully continued under the leadership of the heads of the two states.

“Today, Azerbaijani-Turkish relations are based on strategic partnership, and as part of it, consistent measures are taken in the field of army development.”

Colonel General Zakir Hasanov noted that “Anatolian Eagle - 2023” international flight-tactical exercises, held in Konya, Türkiye, and the “Heydar Aliyev - 2023” exercises, held in Kars, Türkiye, are aimed at further improving the knowledge and skills of servicemen.

Then, Minister of National Defense of Türkiye Hulusi Akar delivered a speech and highly appreciated the conduct of the joint exercises. Noting the importance of developing military cooperation, Hulusi Akar emphasized that the exercises are crucial for servicemen to gain experience and that military cooperation is aimed at the security of the two peoples and countries, as well as stability in the region.

Both ministers highly appreciated the professionalism and skills, shown by the exercises participants, and the successful fulfillment of the assigned tasks, as well as wished the participants success in their further military service.

As part of the visit, Lieutenant General Ramiz Tahirov also met with his Turkish counterpart, Army General Atilla Gulan. At the meeting, the importance of the experience gained by the servicemen during joint exercises was noted. The sides expressed confidence that cooperation based on mutual trust and support will be successfully developed and strengthened in the future.

The guests, participating at the Distinguished Visitors Day, watched the practical part of the exercises and demonstration flights of F-5 aircraft belonging to the "Solo Turk" aviation group of the Turkish Air Force.

The test fire of the new long-range Wing-Assisted Guidance Kit (KGK) integrated to the SU-25 attack aircraft was demonstrated at the end of the event. During the firing, the designated target was destroyed with high accuracy from the distance of 25 kilometers. The effectiveness of the missile was highly appreciated.