Turkey, Pakistan hold joint air, naval forces exercises

The Turkish and Pakistani military forces have initiated two joint military exercises, a naval operations exercise and an air force cooperation drill, beginning on Monday Today`s Zaman reported.

According to a statement released by the General Staff, the combined naval military exercise code-named "Aman-2013," being held at the invitation of the Pakistani naval forces, will be conducted from March 4 to 8 in the Indian Ocean. The aim of the exercise is "to show a common determination against terrorist and criminal events in a naval operating area" and "to contribute to international peace and stability," as it was described in the official statement.

The aerial operation, called "Indus Viper-2013," which will be held at the Mushaf Air Base in the Punjab province of Pakistan, is to take place between March 4 and 18. The goal of the operation is "to contribute to the development of military cooperation between Turkish and Pakistani air forces, to develop coordination between the participating elements of the operation and to improve information and experience sharing on different types of aircraft and armament."

Turkey will participate in the naval exercise with the frigate TCG Gokova (F-496), one underwater defense and one underwater assault team and two staff officers. Various units from Australia, Bangladesh, China, England, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Malaysia, Sri Lanka, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the United States will also participate, according to the General Staff statement.

Five Turkish F-16 fighter jets will join the air force exercise. A previous Indus Viper operation took place at the Mushaf Air Base in 2008.

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