16 Apr 17. Nearly 55 million Turks voted Apr. 16 in a referendum to approve a new regime for the country, a major move from a parliamentarian system into executive presidency. According to unofficial results with 99.2 percent of the votes counted, 51.4 percent of registered voters voted in favor of a package of 18 constitutional amendments, with 48.6 percent voting against. Main opposition Republican People’s Party officials claimed vote rigging and said they would object to vote counting in about half of the ballots nationwide. The amendments give President Recep Tayyip Erdogan much broader powers than he has under the current system. He will be head of state, head of executive and head of the ruling party at the same time. He also will have powers to appoint deputy presidents, cabinet ministers, top bureaucrat and senior judges. Erdogan has been vocal on defense as well, stating Turkey should aim to have no dependency on foreign arms systems by 2023. Erdogan is also known to be a close friend of Ethem Sancak, owner of military vehicle manufacturer BMC.
“This is a historic decision,” Erdogan said after unofficial results confirmed his victory. “This is the most important administrative reform in our history.”
The amendments eliminate the office of prime minister and empowers the president with executive authority, including powers to single-handedly issue government decrees. Erdogan’s critics say the vote will create an all-too powerful office for the president. They say Turkey would drift into a one-man rule and further authoritarianism under new powers for Erdogan, an Islamist-populist leader. Unless Erdogan calls for snap polls Turks are scheduled to go to ballot boxes to elect the president and members of parliament in November 2019. Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, an Erdogan confidant who campaigned for ‘Yes’ said elections would be held on time. Political observers say Erdogan and Yildirim may consider a cabinet reshuffle. Erdogan became Turkey’s first directly elected president in August 2014 when he won 51.5 percent of the nationwide vote. (Source: Defense News)
14 Apr 17. US Air Force Will Deploy F-35A Fighters to Europe for Training. The Air Force will deploy a small number of F-35A Lightning II joint strike fighter aircraft this weekend on a long-planned training deployment to Europe, Pentagon officials announced today. The aircraft are scheduled to conduct training with other U.S. and NATO aircraft based in Europe for several weeks as part of the European Reassurance Initiative. This training deployment signifies an important milestone and natural progression of the F-35 program, officials said, and will allow the Air Force to further demonstrate the operational capabilities of the fifth-generation fighter aircraft. It also assists in refining requirements for eventually basing the F-35A in Europe, which is scheduled to receive the aircraft in the early 2020s. In a statement announcing the deployment, officials said the F-35A provides unprecedented global precision attack capability against current and emerging threats, while complementing the Air Force’s air superiority fleet. “The F-35A is a multi-role precision attack fighter with unmatched lethality, survivability, and interoperability,” the statement said. (Source: US DoD)
10 Apr 17. Launch of the Aft Section of Navy Ship “Vulcano.” The launch of the [bow] section of logistic support ship (LSS) “Vulcano” has taken place today at Castellammare di Stabia. The upgrading of the Italian Navy fleet, provided for by the “Naval Law” strongly supported by the Government, includes a number of new ships. “An extraordinary job: we will continue to support the requirements of the Navy and of our country, thus fostering development at national level”, the Minister said.
“I’m proud to be here. This ship epitomizes the cleverness, working spirit and deftness that characterize Italy. It is in places like this shipyard that Italy’s top-level products result from