Georgia vs. Turkey
Military
| Georgia | Turkey | |
|---|---|---|
| Military branches | Georgian Defense Forces: Land Forces (includes Aviation and Air Defense Forces), Special Operations Forces, National Guard; Ministry of the Interior: Border Police, Coast Guard (includes Georgian naval forces, which were merged with the Coast Guard in 2009) (2021) | Turkish Armed Forces (TSK): Turkish Land Forces (Turk Kara Kuvvetleri), Turkish Naval Forces (Turk Deniz Kuvvetleri; includes naval air and naval infantry), Turkish Air Forces (Turk Hava Kuvvetleri); Ministry of Interior: Gendarmerie of the Turkish Republic, Turkish Coast Guard Command (2021) note: in wartime, the Gendarmerie and Coast Guard would be placed under the operational control of the Land Forces and Naval Forces, respectively |
| Military service age and obligation | conscription abolished in 2016, but reinstated in 2017; 18 to 27 years of age for compulsory and voluntary active duty military service; conscript service obligation is 12 months (2019) | President Erdogan on 25 June 2019 signed a new law cutting the men's mandatory military service period in half, as well as making paid military service permanent; with the new system, the period of conscription was reduced from 12 months to six months for privates and non-commissioned soldiers (the service term for reserve officers chosen among university or college graduates will remain 12 months); after completing six months of service, if a conscripted soldier wants to and is suitable for extending his military service, he may do so for an additional six months in return for a monthly salary; under the new law, all male Turkish citizens over the age of 20 will be required to undergo a one month military training period, but they can obtain an exemption from the remaining five months of their mandatory service by paying 31,000 Turkish Liras (2019) |
| Military expenditures - percent of GDP | 2.3% of GDP (2019) 2.1% of GDP (2018) 2.1% of GDP (2017) 2.2% of GDP (2016) 2.1% of GDP (2015) | 1.86% of GDP (2020 est.) 1.85% of GDP (2019) 1.82% of GDP (2018) 1.51% of GDP (2017) 1.45% of GDP (2016) |
| Military - note | Georgia does not have any military stationed in the separatist territories of Abkhazia and South Ossetia, but large numbers of Russian servicemen have been stationed in these regions since the 2008 Russia-Georgia War (2019) | the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has actively pursued the goal of asserting civilian control over the military since first taking power in 2002; the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) role in internal security has been significantly reduced; the TSK leadership continues to be an influential institution within Turkey, but plays a much smaller role in politics; the Turkish military remains focused on the threats emanating from the Syrian civil war, Russia's actions in Ukraine, and the PKK insurgency; primary domestic threats are listed as fundamentalism (with the definition in some dispute with the civilian government), separatism (Kurdish discontent), and the extreme left wing; Ankara strongly opposed establishment of an autonomous Kurdish region in Iraq; an overhaul of the Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) taking place under the "Force 2014" program is to produce 20-30% smaller, more highly trained forces characterized by greater mobility and firepower and capable of joint and combined operations; the TLFC has taken on increasing international peacekeeping responsibilities including in Afghanistan; the Turkish Navy is a regional naval power that wants to develop the capability to project power beyond Turkey's coastal waters; the Navy is heavily involved in NATO, multinational, and UN operations; its roles include control of territorial waters and security for sea lines of communications; the Turkish Air Force adopted an "Aerospace and Missile Defense Concept" in 2002 and has initiated project work on an integrated missile defense system; in a controversial move, it purchased the Russian S-400 air defense system for an estimated $2.5 billion in July 2019; Air Force priorities include attaining a modern deployable, survivable, and sustainable force structure, and establishing a sustainable command and control system; Turkey is a NATO ally (joined 1952) and hosts NATO's Land Forces Command in Izmir, as well as the AN/TPY-2 radar as part of NATO Missile Defense |
| Military and security service personnel strengths | information varies; approximately 25,000 troops, including active National Guard forces (2020) | information varies; approximately 425,000 active duty personnel (325,000 Army; 50,000 Navy; 50,000 Air Force); approximately 150,000 Gendarmerie (2021) |
| Military equipment inventories and acquisitions | the Georgian Defense Forces are equipped mostly with older Russian and Soviet-era weapons; since 2010, it has received limited quantities of equipment from Bulgaria, France, and the US (2020) | the Turkish Armed Forces inventory is mostly comprised of a mix of domestically-produced and Western weapons systems, although in recent years, Turkey has also acquired some Chinese, Russian, and South Korean equipment; since 2010, the US is the leading provider of armaments to Turkey, followed by Italy, South Korea, and Spain; Turkey has a robust defense industry capable of producing a range of weapons systems for both export and internal use, including armored vehicles, naval vessels, and unmanned aerial platforms, although it is heavily dependent on Western technology; Turkey's defense industry also partners with other countries for defense production (2020) |
| Military deployments | 860 Afghanistan (NATO) (2021) | est. 200 (Azerbaijan; monitoring cease-fire, clearing mines); 250 Bosnia-Herzegovina (EUFOR); est. 25-35,000 Cyprus; 300 Kosovo (NATO/KFOR); est. 1,500-2,000 Qatar; est. 200 Somalia (training mission); est. 10-20,000 Syria (2021) note(s): between 2016 and 2020, Turkey conducted four major military campaigns in northern Syria; Turkey has deployed troops into northern Iraq on numerous occasions to combat the Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), including large operations involving thousands of troops in 2007, 2011, and 2018; its most recent incursions were smaller-scale raids in April and February of 2021; in 2020, Turkey deployed an undetermined number of Turkish military troops and an estimated 3,500-5,000 Syrian fighters to Libya to support the Libyan Government of National Accord (GNA) |
Source: CIA Factbook
