What happens when a rising defense powerhouse wants to show the world it means business?
You get GAZAP — Turkey’s newly unveiled, air-launched thermobaric bomb, now labeled the NATO nation’s “most powerful” conventional weapon.
Described by state media as “very destructive,” GAZAP creates hellish high-temperature blasts using oxygen-fueled shockwaves.
Think fuel-air explosion, then a delayed second detonation — the kind of force that leaves traditional bombs in the dust.
“This weapon is ready for use,” one Turkish official told Anadolu Agency, revealing it weighs 2,000 lbs and can be dropped from U.S.-made F-16 jets.
Turkey’s Military Shift?
Look’s like it. Thermobarics aren’t new — Russia used them in Ukraine and the U.S. in Afghanistan.
But Turkey stepping into the arena with GAZAP signals a bold move in the global arms race.
“It’s part of Ankara’s push to become a defense export leader,” says RAND analyst Rebecca Lucas.
And the timing? No accident. Turkey also debuted another bomb, NEB-2 Ghost, at a flashy defense expo in Istanbul.
So what’s Turkey saying to the world? Simple: We’re not just buying jets — we’re building the bombs to go with them.
And in today’s geopolitics, that’s a message hard to ignore.
