Mogadishu (Somalia Today) – Türkiye has expanded its military training programme for Somalia’s elite Gorgor commandos to include heavy armour and main battle tanks, marking a major shift in Mogadishu’s effort to rebuild a conventional army after decades of collapse.
The new training moves the Turkish-backed Gorgor units beyond counter-insurgency raids and mobile infantry operations into armoured manoeuvre warfare, including tank operations, mine-resistant vehicles and the logistics needed to sustain heavy battlefield platforms.
The programme comes as Somalia seeks to take greater responsibility for national security while continuing its campaign against Al-Shabaab, which still carries out complex attacks and targets exposed military positions in central and southern Somalia.
Heavy armour
The training is split between the TURKSOM Military Training Academy in Mogadishu and specialised commando schools in Isparta, Türkiye.
Turkish instructors have trained several Somali infantry cohorts over the past decade, but the addition of tank operations, heavy vehicle mechanics, and armoured tactical movement points to a deeper phase in the defence partnership between Mogadishu and Ankara.
The programme focuses on equipment supplied by Türkiye, combining refurbished main battle tanks with modern mine-resistant vehicles that have already been delivered to the Somali National Army.
On February 14, 2026, the Turkish Navy landing ship TCG Sancaktar offloaded an estimated 10 to 15 M48 and M60 Patton main battle tanks at the Port of Mogadishu, according to the defence report.
The shipment returned tracked conventional armour to Somalia’s army for the first time since state institutions collapsed in the early 1990s.
The tanks are expected to operate alongside wheeled armoured vehicles donated by Türkiye, including at least 20 BMC Kirpi Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected vehicles delivered between 2020 and 2021.
Old tanks, new role
The M48 Patton tanks sent to Somalia had previously served with the Turkish Armed Forces. Türkiye modernised some of the vehicles in the 1990s into local variants, including the M48A5T1 and M48A5T2.
The M48A5T2, one of the more heavily upgraded versions, replaced the original gasoline engine with a 750-horsepower diesel engine. The 45-tonne tank can reach a road speed of about 48 kilometres per hour and has an operational range of nearly 500 kilometres.
Türkiye also upgraded the tank’s firepower. The original 90mm gun was replaced with a 105mm M68 rifled cannon capable of firing standard NATO ammunition.
The upgraded variant includes a thermal fire-control system, a laser rangefinder, and a gun stabilisation system, allowing crews to engage targets in smoke, dust, and darkness, and while the vehicle is moving.
For Somalia, the tanks could provide battlefield protection and firepower that the army has lacked for more than three decades.
But the platforms also carry serious limitations.
Their steel armour can protect crews against older anti-tank rounds, automatic cannon fire and artillery fragments.
But they lack modern active protection systems, leaving them vulnerable to advanced anti-tank missiles and large improvised explosive devices, both of which remain central to insurgent tactics in Somalia.
Logistical test
The biggest challenge may be keeping the tanks running.
Operating 45-tonne tracked vehicles requires reliable fuel supplies, spare parts, trained mechanics and heavy recovery equipment.
Somalia’s military has long struggled in those areas because of weak institutions, limited funding and years of dependence on foreign support.
Turkish instructors are trying to address that gap by adding technical maintenance modules to the Gorgor curriculum, including work on diesel engines, hydraulic stabilisation systems and basic battlefield repairs.
The goal is to help Somali units operate and maintain the vehicles without constant foreign intervention.
Türkiye has also recently delivered three T-129 ATAK attack helicopters to Somalia to support the fight against Al-Shabaab.
The delivery followed a phone call between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Somali President Hassan Sheikh Mohamud, during which Erdogan pledged continued support for Somalia’s counter-terrorism campaign.
Ankara also provided two utility helicopters to Somalia’s navy, part of a wider defence agreement signed in February 2024 that includes support for building Somali maritime forces.
Türkiye’s growing role
The armoured training programme further cements Türkiye’s role as one of Somalia’s most important security partners.
Türkiye operates its largest overseas military facility, Camp TURKSOM, in Mogadishu, which opened in 2017 and has trained thousands of Somali soldiers.
The base has become a central pillar of Somalia’s military rebuilding programme and a symbol of Ankara’s long-term security presence in the Horn of Africa.
The latest expansion also comes as the African Union Support and Stabilisation Mission in Somalia, known as AUSSOM, continues to support Somali forces following the end of ATMIS.
Somalia remains under pressure to build forces capable of holding territory, protecting strategic infrastructure and reducing reliance on international troops.
Analysts say the first Somali tank crews will likely focus on defensive consolidation, including securing key bases, roads and national assets, while lighter mobile units continue patrols and offensive operations.
The success of the programme will depend less on the tanks themselves than on whether Somalia can sustain them in the field.
If the training succeeds, Gorgor could become the first Somali unit in decades to combine commando infantry, armoured vehicles, tanks and air support in coordinated operations.
But if maintenance, logistics and command systems fail, the new armour risks becoming symbolic rather than decisive.
