Anatolian Eagle Anatolian Eagle is an air force exercise hosted by the Turkish Air Force and held in Konya , Turkey . There are both national and international exercises held , the international exercises usually involving air arms of the USA , other NATO forces and Asian countries . History . With modernisation of infrastructure , weapons and training starting in the early 1980s , the Turkish Air Force ( TAF ) realised the philosophy that " no matter how modern the weapons are , it is men that use them . " When the TAF gained experience during internal security operations and the Bosnia - Herzegovina and Kosovo Wars , it was decided that the TAF had reached a performance level where it could host the air forces of other countries in exercises and provide training to them . The Anatolian Eagle exercises are stated to be similar to the USA ' s Red Flag exercise at Nellis Air Force Base . The TAF first sent observers to Red Flag in 1983 and participated for the first time in 1997 with six F - 16s and 57 personnel . The first exercise , Anatolian Eagle 01 , was held by TAF Operations Command on 18 – 29 June 2001 . As well as Turkey , the air forces of USA and Israel also participated . Description . Anatolian Eagle exercises simulate a war - time environment and the difficulty level increases from easy to hard . First the training exercise is planned in the ' White Headquarters ' building . Training is monitored with computers to help test knowledge , abilities and find deficiencies of the participants . The scenarios consist of a " Blue Team " which attacks tactical and strategic targets in a " Red Land " during Combined Air Operations ( COMAO ) . The Red Land is defended by opposing combat aircraft and surface - to - air missile ( SAM ) systems . Statistical studies are also completed in the White Headquarters . During the training exercise , the location , position and flight information of participating aircraft is transferred to a Command Control Centre ( CCC ) via an Air Combat Maneuvering Instrumentation ( ACMI ) system . Radar tracks and missile shots from SAM systems , AWACS aircraft , land - based radars and other anti - aircraft systems are also transferred to the CCC . Pre - flight briefings and post - flight de - briefings are carried out in the CCC where there is a briefing hall with capacity of 450 people . Sorties during the AE exercise are controlled and commanded at the MASE ( Multi Aegis Site Emulator ) Operation Center . Airspace for Anatolian Eagle is 200 nm from east to west and 150 nm from north to south . The main operations airspace , also known as the Salt Area , can be used from ground level up to 50 , 000 feet . During the exercise , AWACS aircraft give command and control support to Blue Forces and a land - based radar gives GCI support to the Red Forces . Air - to - air refuelling tankers refuel aircraft of both forces . The Red Force personnel conduct their planning and briefings in the Red Building , while the national and foreign participants do the same in the Blue 1 , Blue 2 and Blue 3 buildings . Red Force is restricted to their own Red Building , and nobody else can enter Red Building . Participants are housed in dormitories . Politics . Despite their religious differences , Turkey and Israel have historically had good relations and Israel was a regular participant in Anatolian Eagle . However three days before AE - 09 / 3 was due to start , Turkey postponed the international part of the exercise planned with Italy , Israel and the USA . Israeli officials were reported as saying that the decision was " sudden and unexpected " but that the Turks linked it to the involvement of the Israeli airforce in the invasion of Gaza earlier that year . In January 2009 the Turkish prime minister had criticised the Israeli President over the invasion ; the Turks denied that the cancellation had been political . Chinese Flankers used the Konya facilities to exercise with Turkish F - 4E Phantoms between 20 Sept and 4 Oct 2010 . Turkey does not appear to regard these exercises as part of the official Anatolian Eagle series , despite the media reporting them as such . US officials worried that the exercises would allow the Chinese access to Western technology and an understanding of NATO tactics .