Turkey announces participation in exercises in Bulgaria and new activation of Black Sea mine countermeasures group

Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence has announced upcoming participation in exercises in Bulgaria and a new activation of the mine countermeasures group in the Black Sea. Turkish forces will take part in Poseidon and NATO Tracia in Bulgaria, while the mine countermeasures group will be activated in the western Black Sea. The schedule comes from a single official source: the Turkish ministry. Flank had found no independent confirmation at the time of publication. The announcement establishes the stated plans, but not their implementation.

Turkish forces in Poseidon and NATO Tracia, TCG Akçay in Varna

According to the ministry, Turkish forces will take part in Poseidon and NATO Tracia between 7 and 26 November. The announcement does not provide a separate schedule for each exercise.

The ministry also plans a visit by the Turkish ship TCG Akçay to Varna on 7–9 November. Bulgaria thus features in the announced schedule as a host of exercises and a ship visit. The participating Bulgarian units, specific operating areas and tasks during the visit have not been specified.

Mine countermeasures group to be activated from 7 to 18 November

The Turkish ministry announced the mine countermeasures group’s 13th activation in the western Black Sea for 7–18 November. Mine countermeasures involve finding and neutralising sea mines and have a direct bearing on the safe use of maritime routes.

Another activation does not in itself mean that the mine threat has increased. The ministry does not cite a specific mine incident as the reason for the activity. Assessing the results will require information on the areas surveyed and hazardous objects found.

The designation “13th activation” shows that this is a recurring arrangement. Without a schedule of previous activations, however, it is not possible to conclude that the pace of activity is increasing.

Turkish maritime headquarters to take part in Koalicja 26.2 from Istanbul

In the same announcement, the ministry said that the Turkish-led maritime component headquarters of the multinational forces of the “Coalition of the Willing” for Ukraine would take part in Koalicja 26.2 from Istanbul on 9–22 November.

This involves participation by a headquarters, not the deployment of combat forces to Ukraine. The overlap in timing with the exercises in Bulgaria and the mine countermeasures activity does not establish that they share an operational task or a unified command.

The start of the activities, the arrival of TCG Akçay in Varna and official announcements on force composition and results remain to be tracked. Further information may be added.