In the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Chief of Saudi General Staff Lieutenant-General Fayyad bin Hamed Al-Ruwaili attended the observation day for the multinational joint exercise “EFES 2024” on behalf of Saudi Minister of Defense Prince Khalid bin Salman bin Abdulaziz.
The exercise took place at the Kartal camp in the city of Izmir, Turkiye, and involved the armed forces of several friendly countries, the Saudi Press Agency (SPA) reported.
During the exercise, participating forces engaged in combat scenarios and field maneuvers, including close air support operations, live ammunition shooting with light and medium weapons, search-and-rescue operations, and drone threat response.
Defense Ministers and senior military leaders from the participating countries attended the observation day and the conclusion of the EFES exercise. Saudi Arabia was represented by Deputy Chief of Staff for Land Forces Major General Ahmed Al-Muqrin, Saudi Ambassador to Turkiye Fahd Abu Al-Nasr, and several senior military officers.
The EFES-2024 Exercise, led by the Aegean Army Command in Türkiye, includes a Computer-Assisted Command Post Exercise from April 25 to May 8, followed by a Live-Firing Field Exercise from May 10-30.
The EFES-2024 Unified, Joint, Computer-Aided Command Post Exercise, which started on April 25 in the Turkish province of Izmir, concluded with Distinguished Observer Day on Wednesday 08 May 2024.
The Aegean Army Command Unified Joint Warfare Headquarters hosted an exercise for the day involving participants from various military commands, ministries, public institutions, and civil society organizations, according to Türkiye’s Anadolu Agency (AA).
The unified and joint operation aimed to enhance military capabilities and war readiness among 508 personnel, including 181 foreigners from 34 countries, covering assigned tasks.
Following a briefing on the exercise’s scenario and content, the commanders toured the headquarters.
This year Istanbul Multinational Joint Warfare Center Command successfully managed EFES’ computer-aided command post-exercise phase for the first time.
