NATO's Artificial Intelligence Strategy and Interoperability Challenges: The Case of Turkey

The rapid advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) has significantly changed military applications, creating new competitive advantages and shifting the global balance of power. This article examines NATO's AI strategy and the associated interoperability challenges, with a particular focus on Turkey. NATO's AI strategy seeks to enhance interoperability among its member states by fostering the integration of AI technologies into military capabilities. However, achieving this goal is complicated by the varying levels of AI technological advancement, divergent national AI-military strategies and differing geopolitical considerations among member countries. Using Turkey as a case study, this paper explores how the rapid development of AI-based military drones contributes to Turkey's strategic autonomy and enhances regime resilience while also highlighting certain interoperability considerations within NATO. The analysis underlines the need for a cohesive approach to AI integration that addresses these disparities to maintain NATO's collective defence capabilities.