section_path: Government and politics/Military
section_name: Military
paragraph_text: Military
  
  The Turkish Armed Forces are responsible for defense against foreign threats. While the Commander-in-Chief is the President, General Staff, Air Force, Naval Force, and Land Force usually report to the Minister of National Defence. The Gendarmerie General Command and the Coast Guard Command are under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of the Interior. Military service is required for 6–12 months for men, which is reduced to one month after paying a fee. Turkey does not recognize conscientious objection and does not offer a civilian alternative to military service.
  
  Turkey has the second-largest military force in NATO, after the United States, with an estimated strength of 890,700 military personnel as of February 2022. Turkey is considered a significant power in unmanned aerial vehicles. As part of the nuclear sharing policy of NATO, Turkey hosts approximately 20 United States B61 nuclear bombs at the Incirlik Air Base. In recent years, Turkey’s defense industry has developed rapidly. Aselsan, Turkish Aerospace Industries, Roketsan, and ASFAT are among the top 100 defense companies in the world.
  
  Turkey has participated in international missions under the United Nations and NATO since the Korean War, including peacekeeping missions in Somalia, Yugoslavia and the Horn of Africa. It supported coalition forces in the First Gulf War, contributed military personnel to the International Security Assistance Force in Afghanistan, and remains active in Kosovo Force, Eurocorps and EU Battlegroups. As of 2016, Turkey has assisted Peshmerga forces in northern Iraq and the Somali Armed Forces with security and training. The Turkish Armed Forces have a relatively substantial military presence abroad, with military bases in Albania, Iraq, Qatar, and Somalia. The country also maintains a force of 36,000 troops in Northern Cyprus since 1974.