Turkey's annual Efes military exercises featured many firsts this year and seemed particularly relevant to the country's current concerns.

Though the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is dealing with developments in Syria, border security issues, and combating the Islamic State (IS) and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), it nevertheless proceeded with the event May 30-31. The live-fire exercise was designed to test the combined operations of TSK’s land, naval, air and special forces. This year, for the first time, units from the United States, Germany, Britain, Saudi Arabia, Azerbaijan, Qatar, Pakistan and Poland participated in the exercise.

Another major issue that attracted attention this year was the radical change in exercise scenario observed by representatives of 79 countries. In previous years, the exercise was conducted with unlinked, small-scale scenarios such as amphibious landings, securing beachheads, close air support, long-distance artillery, and rocket and air-fire support. But this year the scenario was completely rewritten, and for the first time tested a hybrid operation that included combating terror, cyberwarfare and psychological warfare.

According to the scenario, an imaginary country called Torik had occupied the island of another imaginary country, Arnlad. The latter asked for United Nations assistance. At the request of the UN, all eight participating countries formed task forces. Friendly forces that fought off the occupying country also had to combat a terror organization. The exercise aimed at planning, coordinating and executing combined operations; training personnel; and testing and developing command-control procedures, electronic warfare tactics and air-space control. The exercise also briefed participants on each other's procedures and tactics, and the joint use of weapons, and aimed to elevate the training levels of participating forces and their headquarters personnel.