Quote:
Originally Posted by smilingassassin
Somehow I doubt the PKK has Abrams, M-60 or even WW2 Shermans at their disposal unles they have been captured from Turkey itself? How many Ex-U.S. weapons does Turkey still use or has used durring the PKK's existance?
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Turkish Armed Forces are a NATO force using primarily US/European weapon systems. During the fight against PKK some weapon systems were naturally captured by the terrorist organization. However, these are limited to small arms and support weapon systems; i.e. mortars, HMGs etc. The nature of the terrain where the operations are focused on makes the use of mechanized equipment very hard.
APCs and IFVs are used primarily in trop transportation and convoy excort duties. Tanks are placed in strategic strongpoints, and utilized as semi-bunkers. The nature of the terrain forces Turkey to rely on infantry units to continue the fight, supported heavily by artillery and air force/land aviation.
Naturally heavy weapon systems are not employed in the front line very often.