Turkiye aims to develop long-range ballistic missile, says Erdogan

Turkiye is attempting to develop a long-range ballistic missile capable of hitting targets 1,000 kilometres away, as Ankara continues to flex its muscles against Greece’s arming of islands in the Aegean Sea. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made the announcement during a meeting with young people in the city of Mardin yesterday.

“The range of the Typhoon missile was said to be 560 kilometres, but we don’t find even 560 to be sufficient,” the Turkish leader explained. “I had a meeting last week [with experts]. I asked what the final situation will be. They said we will reach 1,000 kilometres.”

The Typhoon missiles were revealed to have been tested by Turkiye in the Black Sea in October, flying 561 kilometres in 7.6 minutes from a point near the city of Rize to the coast of Sinop. According to Bloomberg, the missile has the longest range of all such weapons developed in the country.

READ: Erdogan warns Greece to cease arming Aegean islands or face results ‘it will regret’

Addressing the Greek authorities’ continuous arming of islands in the Aegean Sea in close proximity to Turkiye, Erdogan asked, “Shouldn’t the Greeks jump at this [capability]?” While the Greeks did “some crazy things in the Aegean,” he said that Turkiye has also been preparing. “Don’t do it, just relax. Don’t mess with us,” he warned.

The Greeks’ arming of the islands over the past few years has been seen by Ankara as a direct provocation, displaying the ability to launch close proximity attacks in the event of a conflict. This is happening amid tension in the eastern Mediterranean and threats to Turkiye’s territorial waters in a direct violation of the Treaty of Lausanne.

READ: Greek militarism in the East Aegean Islands disregards major treaty obligations