A video from a government-backed defense fair in İstanbul showing Turkey’s defense minister — a former top general — and the current navy chief physically carrying a model of an aircraft carrier across a stage in front of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has attracted widespread ridicule and criticism over the role and image of the Turkish military.
Cumhurbaşkanı Erdoğan’a Milli Uçak Gemisi maketi hediye edildi.
Erdoğan:
Milli Uçak Gemi’miz İstanbul Tersanesi’nde inşa edilecek. pic.twitter.com/4AyoGp6t7y
— gdh defence (@gdhdefence) August 28, 2025
The footage, filmed during the opening of the Teknofest “Blue Homeland” event at İstanbul Naval Shipyard Command on Friday, shows Defense Minister Yaşar Güler, who previously served as chief of general staff, and Adm. Ercüment Tatlıoğlu, commander of the navy, lifting a scale model of Turkey’s planned MUGEM aircraft carrier and holding it in front Erdoğan as he delivered remarks.
The images spread rapidly on Turkish social media and provoked sharp commentary. Retired officers joined in the criticism, suggesting the act of top brass handling a stage prop diminished the dignity of their uniforms and led to an image of subservience.
Erdoğan, addressing the audience as the officers positioned the model, praised Turkey’s growing defense industry as a national triumph. “Those who want to see what faith and determination can achieve should look at Turkey’s defense industry today,” he said. “Our defense industry is writing an epic. Our adversaries are anxious and trying to catch up with us. Just as our War of Independence gave hope to the oppressed a century ago, today our defense industry gives them courage.”
The presentation was staged around MUGEM, a prototype for Turkey’s first domestically designed aircraft carrier. The ship is showcased by the government as a symbol of the country’s ambition to assert its “Blue Homeland” doctrine, which emphasizes Turkish naval strength and claims in the Mediterranean and surrounding seas.
The images quickly spread across Turkish social media, with many users calling it an embarrassing display. “We’ve gone from a time when military uniforms were never used even to carry grocery bags to a time when they’re being used to carry scale models,” one critic remarked. Others defended the scene as a normal part of a ceremonial event, saying the officers were simply assisting in a presentation.
The incident touched a nerve because of the country’s history. For much of the 20th century, Turkey’s armed forces were the most powerful institution in the state. Generals carried out military coups in 1960, 1971 and 1980 and forced an elected government from office in 1997. Up until Turgut Özal’s election as president in 1989, the country’s head of state was typically drawn from the military’s top ranks.
Even after the return to civilian rule in the 1980s and 1990s, the general staff retained wide influence over national security and politics, often steering or constraining governments.
That changed in the 2000s, when Erdoğan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) moved to curb the military’s autonomy. High-profile trials weakened the general staff, the failed 2016 coup attempt led to sweeping purges of officers and constitutional changes put the armed forces firmly under presidential control. Today, generals rarely speak publicly and are seen as loyal executors of government policy.
For government supporters, events like TEKNOFEST demonstrate a vibrant partnership between civilian leadership and the armed forces in boosting national defense.
For critics, images of top military brass carrying models at a political leader’s feet illustrate the reversal of the civilian-military hierarchy and the growing symbolism of loyalty over autonomy.