Türkiye opens Ay Yıldız headquarters to NATO DefMins

Türkiye on Wednesday opened its under-construction Ay Yıldız Joint Headquarters to NATO defense ministers for the first time during a reception hosted by Defense Minister Yaşar Güler on the sidelines of the NATO summit. The reception was held in the Star section of the new headquarters complex, where Güler welcomed the ministers with a military band before a group photograph, the Defense Ministry said.

Unified command and efficiency

Addressing the guests, Güler said the Ay Yıldız campus, named after the crescent and star on the Turkish flag, would bring together the General Staff and the military’s force commands under one roof. “By bringing together our General Staff and force commands under one roof, we aim to maximise our joint operational capability while accelerating bureaucratic processes to achieve maximum speed and efficiency,” he said. The headquarters is expected to become operational in the near future and will be among the world’s largest military command centres.

Security and symbolism

Güler said the complex would be protected by advanced air and ground defense measures under Türkiye’s “Steel Dome” strategy and equipped with state‑of‑the‑art security systems. The headquarters will also feature smart and sustainable building technologies to ensure uninterrupted communications and command and control during crises and wartime. “This is more than a modern headquarters. It is also a tangible symbol of Türkiye’s strong and determined stance in the field of defense and security,” Güler said.