Türkiye has scheduled two frigates to begin sailing to Somalia on Friday, 30 October, to transport supplies by sea and carry out a personnel rotation, according to its Defence Ministry. The deployment comes as Ankara maintains military training programmes in Somalia alongside offshore oil exploration and construction of a spaceport.
The ministry identified the vessels as TCG Gökçeada and TCG Yıldırım in its weekly press briefing. It described their assignment as transporting materials and conducting a rotation, without publishing a cargo manifest, identifying the recipients or announcing an arrival date. The statement did not specify whether the supplies were for Somali forces or Turkish personnel deployed in the country.
Military training and deployment
The naval mission follows recent exchanges between the two countries’ military leadership. The Turkish ministry said its land forces commander received his Somali counterpart and an accompanying delegation on 24 October. In September, Defence Minister Ahmed Moallim Fiqi also met TURKSOM commander Major General Sabahattin Kalkan and other Turkish officers in Mogadishu to discuss training and support for Somali forces.
Training has continued in Türkiye as well as Somalia. In an August briefing, the ministry said 1,521 Somali personnel had completed commando training in Manisa. A further group of 1,523 personnel was scheduled to train between 17 August and 9 November, under bilateral military education and advisory arrangements.
The Turkish parliament approved a two-year extension of the armed forces’ Somalia deployment in July, effective from 27 July 2026. The authorisation covers support against terrorism and other threats. The parliamentary account also cited Somalia’s request for assistance against piracy, illegal fishing and smuggling under the countries’ defence and economic cooperation agreement.
Offshore oil exploration
Türkiye’s energy programme has brought additional vessels and technical personnel to Somalia. The deepwater drillship Çağrı Bey arrived in April for work at Curad-1, roughly 370 kilometres off Mogadishu. The Turkish Energy Ministry described the operation as the country’s first deep-sea drilling mission abroad, following seismic surveys by Oruç Reis across three offshore blocks.
The drilling plan envisaged reaching a total depth of about 7,500 metres, including approximately 3,500 metres of water and 4,000 metres below the seabed. Turkish offshore operator TP-OTC initially estimated that the operation would take six to nine months, depending on weather and sea conditions. The exploration work is intended to assess the petroleum potential of the site.
Spaceport construction
The partnership also extends to launch infrastructure. Türkiye has begun constructing a spaceport in Somalia through the Turkish Space Agency, according to the Turkish presidency. The project is designed to provide satellite-launch infrastructure and give Türkiye an overseas site for its space programme.
At the International Astronautical Congress in Antalya this October, Turkish aerospace representatives discussed the ongoing construction and plans for the facility to serve domestic launch vehicles and international operators. They cited Somalia’s proximity to the equator as one of the site’s technical advantages.
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