Turkey is building its own, bigger version of the Pentagon meant to span 135 million square feet and support about 15,000 personnel

• Turkey's Crescent Star military complex is set to be bigger than the US Pentagon.
• Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the compound would "strike fear" into Turkey's enemies.
• Designed with a big star- and crescent-shaped building at its center, it's meant to be done in 2023.

Turkey has started building a giant military compound for its defense staff dubbed the "Turkish Pentagon."

At the groundbreaking ceremony Monday, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the new compound - tentatively called the Crescent Star - would "strike fear" into Turkey's enemies, Nikkei Asia reported.

Erdoğan said the complex would span 135.6 million square feet - 9.5 million square feet of it indoors - and accommodate up to 15,000 staff members, per the local media outlet Daily Sabah.

In contrast, the US Pentagon has 6.5 million square feet of office space, and the entire floor area of the US Capitol could fit inside one of the Pentagon's five wedges, according to the US Defense Department.

An artist's impression of Turkey's Crescent Star complex shows a similar ring structure to the Pentagon, but it is also modeled after Turkey's flag.

A giant star-shaped building is expected to serve as an exhibition area and the entrance to the compound, while another vast crescent-shaped building envelopes an outdoor area for ceremonies, according to Daily Sabah.

The complex is scheduled for completion by May 2023 for use by staff members from the Turkish army and the country's Ministry of National Defense.

"We will be establishing a structure here which will strike fear to our enemies with its standing and give confidence to our friends," Erdoğan said at the groundbreaking ceremony, per Nikkei.

Erdoğan's office for communications did not immediately respond to a request for comment from Insider.

The ceremony was held on the 99th anniversary of Victory Day, an occasion in Turkey marking one of the major battles in its war for independence in the 1920s.

The Crescent Star is the latest in Erdoğan's mission to ramp up Turkey's military might, in a bid to boost his popularity before the 2023 elections while the country faces rising inflation, floods, and wildfires. Turkey has been focusing on its local production of arms and war equipment, developing drones with payloads meant to rival the US Reaper airstrike drone, as well as its own warship design and construction.