Azerbaijan, Turkey and Uzbekistan hold first joint military exercise
More than 3,500 troops from Azerbaijan, Turkey and Uzbekistan trained together for the first time in Azerbaijan's Karabakh region, rehearsing responses to drone swarms, cyberattacks and maritime incidents. Several countries, including Iran, observed the drills.
Azerbaijan, Turkey and Uzbekistan have carried out their first-ever joint military exercise, bringing together more than 3,500 troops in the Hojavend district of Azerbaijan's Karabakh region. Named "Power of Unity-2026," the drills tested a wide range of modern security threats.
Focus on modern warfare
Unlike conventional exercises, the training emphasized emerging challenges: troops practised repelling drone swarm attacks, conducting electronic warfare, and responding to cyberattacks and disinformation campaigns. At the Qızılqaya training ground, forces deployed more than 130 unmanned vehicles, over 70 armoured vehicles, more than 90 artillery systems and over 20 aviation assets. Soldiers also rehearsed breaching defensive lines, clearing minefields, securing border areas and setting up checkpoints, alongside operations in mountainous terrain against simulated "terrorist" positions.
From land to the Caspian Sea
The scenarios extended into maritime operations, with troops practising the recapture of a vessel and an offshore facility, hostage rescue, and an amphibious landing to neutralise a mock terrorist base. The exercise spanned multiple locations, including Baku, the Karabakh region, Nakhchivan and Azerbaijan's section of the Caspian Sea.
Turkish Defence Minister Yaşar Güler stressed the importance of readiness, saying the countries aim to live in peace while preparing as thoroughly as possible. Azerbaijan's Defence Minister, Zakir Hasanov, said the drills covered land, naval and air operations that boost the combat readiness of participating forces. Uzbekistan's Defence Minister, Shukhrat Kholmukhamedov, said troops demonstrated high readiness and the ability to operate jointly.
Observers from Kyrgyzstan, Pakistan, Serbia, Slovakia, Tajikistan, Georgia, Turkmenistan, the United Arab Emirates and Iran attended the exercise. Afterward, in Shusha, the defence ministers of Azerbaijan, Turkey and Georgia held their 13th trilateral meeting, discussing military cooperation and regional security.
