Tag: defence industry

Turkey Sanctions Boeing for Delays

ANKARA — Turkey has imposed sanctions on Boeing for major delays in the US company’s spy plane program, a top Turkish official said. But Turkish leaders are not disclosing the penalties, citing commercial secrecy.

Turkish Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said major delays in Turkey’s multibillion-dollar program for the purchase of four airborne early warning and control (AEW&C) aircraft from Boeing were due to the company’s failure in developing the system as well as other uncontrolled events within the program.

Under a July 23, 2003, contract, priced at more than US $1.6 billion, Boeing was to develop and deliver four AEW&C aircraft to the Turkish Air Force in 2008. The program involved the delivery of the 737-700 airframe, ground radar and control systems, ground control segments for mission crew training, mission support and maintenance support.

Yilmaz said April 8 that Turkey has paid Boeing only for work completed and has imposed legal sanctions for the delays considered the company’s failure.

“Compensation for the delays and other legal sanctions are being imposed [as part of Boeing’s contractual obligations],” Yilmaz said.

GTC Iletisim Danismanligi, a public relations firm that handles media queries for Boeing in Turkey, referred questions to Turkey’s procurement authorities.

Defense procurement officials said neither Turkey nor Boeing is required to disclose the clauses deemed as “commercial secrecy” in the original contract, including the compensation for delays. The generic compensation in any major Turkish defense contract is 0.03 percent per day, but different contracts can have lower or higher percentages and different rules of application.

“In the case of Boeing’s delays, there has been an agreement as to how the company should compensate for the delays,” a senior procurement official said. He did not say how much or whether the payment would be in cash or in the form of parts and maintenance supplies because “disclosing that would mean a breach of the contract.”

Procurement officials also said that the “force majeure” Yilmaz mentioned in his official explanation essentially referred to delays outside Boeing’s control, such as a now-defunct Israeli blockade of some of the parts in the program.

A clampdown by the Israeli Defense Ministry on the delivery of subsystems for the Turkish AEW&C program was only recently removed. Elta, the Israeli maker of the electronic support measures (ESMs) systems for the 737-700 serial, had since autumn 2011 been lobbying to remove the MoD licensing block preventing the delivery of the systems to Turkey.

Elta is a subcontractor of Boeing in this program and was building the ESMs for four aircraft under a subcontract worth more than $100 million.

The ESM is a passive, purely defensive system that does not enhance the firepower of the Turkish Air Force. The AEW&C system as a whole can be used offensively to direct fighters to their targets or defensively in order to counter attacks by enemy forces in the air and on the ground.

However, defense analysts agree that the ESM is a defensive subsystem.

The Israeli MoD, in December 2011, refused to allow Elta and Elbit, another Israeli company, to complete deliveries of long-range aerial photography systems to the Turkish Air Force.

The clampdown on the Boeing-led program marked the first Israeli government decision to force a US weapons-maker to fail to fulfill its contractual commitments to a third country governmental buyer — and at a time when the program itself faced major delays.

The 737-700 aircraft are to be used as part of Turkey’s NATO capabilities.

An airborne early warning and control system is an airborne radar system designed to detect aircraft, ships and vehicles at long ranges, and to control and command the battle space in an air engagement by directing fighter and attack aircraft strikes. Used at a high altitude, the radars on the aircraft allow the operators to distinguish between friendly and hostile aircraft hundreds of miles away. ■

via Turkey Sanctions Boeing for Delays | Defense News | defensenews.com.

May 9, 2013
Turkey’s Aselsan secures Sikorsky helicopter subcontract

May 7 (Reuters) – Turkish defence and electronics company Aselsan will supply parts and software for Sikorsky BlackHawk military helicopters in a deal that will guarantee the company around $100 million in orders annually for the next five to six years.

The deal is part of Turkey’s $3.5 billion order for 109 helicopters from United Technologies Corp’s Sikorsky unit, which as usual in such deals is tied in to orders and work for domestic manufacturers.

“Right now we’re talking about 109 helicopters,” Cengiz Ergeneman told Reuters on the sidelines of a defence exhibition in Istanbul. “There will also be an export order of around the same amount….which (combined) will bring us business worth around $100 million annually for the next five to six years.”

The 109 helicopters which Turkey agreed to buy in 2011 will be assembled in Turkey. The main contractor is Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) with components to be supplied by Sikorsky, Aselsan and other Turkish companies.

The negotiations for the subcontracts were about to be finalised, Turkey’s undersecretary for defence industries (SSM) said in a statement on Monday.

“In the scope of the program, Avionic suit will be designed by Aselsan, engine will be manufactured by TEI under the license of GE and landing gear and transmission will be manufactured by ALP Aviation which specializes in Black Hawk helicopter transmission system.”

via Turkey’s Aselsan secures Sikorsky helicopter subcontract | Reuters.

May 8, 2013
Turkey’s Indigenous Trainer Nears Maiden Flight

ANKARA — An indigenous basic trainer aircraft that Turkey designed and has been developing is going through a final round of tests before it makes its maiden flight in June, according to officials from its maker, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

TAI is manufacturing four prototypes of the Hurkus for a round of tests. The first prototype successfully went through engine tests in February, the second is being tested for static durability and cabin pressure, the third is being assembled, and the fourth will be tested for metal fatigue.

A total of 220 aviation experts are supporting the certification work for the European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) CS 23 standards.

The two-seater Hurkus will be a trainer with a lifespan of 10,500 flight hours, or a 35-year service life. The turboprop aircraft has a 1,600 horsepower engine that can fly at an altitude of 10,577 meters at a maximum speed of 574 kilometers per hour.

Success on the Hurkus development would be a landmark achievement for Turkish industry and reduce dependence on foreign acquisitions. It is particularly important that the Hurkus comes after the first Turkish-made drone, the Anka, also developed by TAI, prepares for serial production.

The Hurkus program started after Turkey’s procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, tasked the company with designing and developing a national trainer in March 2006.

The Hurkus will be equipped for day and night flying as well as basic pilot training, instrument flying, navigation training, weapons and formation training. The aircraft will have good visibility from both cockpits with a 50 degree down-view angle from the rear cockpit, ejection seats, an on-board oxygen generation system, an environmental control system, an anti-G system, and high shock absorbing landing gear for training missions.

The Turkish government has indicated that the aircraft is expected to attract export sales, possibly from Arab countries or countries with limited air force budgets.

The Hurkus will come in four variants. Hurkus-A: Basic version that has been certified with EASA according to CS-23 requirements. It is intended for the civilian market.

Hurkus-B: Advanced version with integrated avionics including a mission computer, and cockpit avionics layout similar to F-16 and F-35 fighters. The Turkish Army is considering an initial order for 15 aircraft.

Hurkus-C: An armed version for the close-air support role will have a maximum weapons load of 3,300 pounds. The Turkish Army has expressed interest in the Hurkus C to provide support for its attack helicopters.

Coast Guard version: TAI plans to offer another version of the Hurkus to support the Turkish Coast Guard’s maritime patrol activities. The aircraft’s back seat would be occupied by an operator for a forward looking infrared sensor.

via Turkey’s Indigenous Trainer Nears Maiden Flight | Defense News | defensenews.com.

April 24, 2013
Israel defense systems firms court Turkish military

Following ‘Mavi Maramara’ apology, Israeli defense firms seek to resume cooperation with Turkish military industry.

Turkish F-4 fighter jets Photo: REUTERS/Stringer Turkey

Following Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu’s apology to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan over the 2010 Mavi Marmara incident, Israeli defense systems manufacturers have been trying to renew their lucrative cooperation with the Turkey military.

These contacts had yielded hundreds of millions of dollars in procurement and upgrade contracts in the years before relations collapsed.

US journal Defense News quoted an official at a major Israeli defense company, who expressed the hope for the renewal of defense cooperation.

“We don’t expect an immediate return to the good old days. But we see no reason why cooperation in key defense systems should not resume in line with normalization of political relations. We expect the Turks to understand that their military and local industry largely benefited from Israeli-related programs, and they still can,” the official said.

“Trading flourished during the crisis in bilateral relations. If non-defense trade flourished in bad times, why shouldn’t defense trade normalize in better times?” he added.

Trade between Israel and Turkey has risen 30% since 2010 despite the crisis caused by the Gaza flotilla deaths, and despite a small fall in 2012. During the decade before the incident, Turkey was an important export market for Israeli defense companies.

Israel Military Industries Ltd. (IMI) upgraded 170 Turkish M60A1 tanks, bringing them to a level approaching the Merkava Mark III in a nearly $1 billion deal.

Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) sold the Turkish Air Force advanced UAVs and ground control stations. IAI also upgraded a batch of 54 Turkish F-4 fighter jets.

According to Defense News, “Signs of a political and subsequently defense-related thaw came early this year, when Israel’s Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd. (IAI) unit Elta supplied Turkey with military equipment in the first such deal since 2010. Elta delivered $100 million worth of electronic equipment for four airborne early warning and control aircraft Boeing is building for the Turkish Air Force.”

Nevertheless, Turkish officials have greeted the ostensible rapprochement cautiously.

“The apology is a first step for the normalization of political ties, but it is too premature to think this will immediately pave the way for a return of Israeli contenders to the Turkish market,” a senior Turkish procurement official told Defense News. “We must first wait and see if the detente will lead to full normalization.”

“We need a stable period of confidence-building measures before we seriously sit down and discuss projects with Israeli suppliers. If normalization happens, we will view Israeli companies like any other foreign company and think that business is business. At the moment, there is too much political contamination in the air,” he added.

A board member of a Turkish state-owned defense company said, “A direct or indirect nod from Erdogan’s office would signal a gradual return to normalcy in defense business with Israeli companies. But for that to happen, the thaw must proceed and lead to full restoration of diplomatic ties.”

Turkish analyst Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, director of the German Marshall Fund’s told Defense News it would be wrong if one had too high expectations for the Turkish-Israeli reconciliation.

“Political realities have pushed both countries toward normalizing relations, toward cooperation. But the two are unlikely to return to their strategic relationship in the foreseeable future. Unlike in the 1990s, they will not become close allies again,” he said.

via Israel defense systems firms court Turkish military | JPost | Israel News.

April 6, 2013
Top Turkish Firm Develops First Local Friend-or-Foe Gear

ANKARA — Turkey’s largest defense company — Aselsan Elektronik Sanayi ve Ticaret — has successfully developed the country’s first indigenous identification friend-or-foe (IFF) system, and delivered the first prototypes to the Turkish military.

Two prototype electronic systems were delivered to the armed forces last month and mark a “first-time achievement” for Turkey’s local industry, officials and analysts here said. “This puts Turkey into a small list of seven countries that have the capabilities to manufacture IFF systems,” Aselsan CEO Cengiz Ergeneman told reporters.

Aselsan signed a contract with Turkey’s Ministry of National Defense in December 2006 to design, develop and manufacture the prototypes. The contract price for the prototypes is classified.

The company now awaits a fresh contract with the country’s procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, for serial production. Aselsan officials said a contract could be signed later this year.

The prototypes developed by Aselsan passed a final round of performance tests in November. They will be installed on Turkey’s F-4 fighter jets and air defense radars and, at later stages, other aerial and naval platforms — except F-16 fighter jets.

“The system is entirely indigenous and marks a first time for the Turkish industry,” said Ceyhun Ozguven, an analyst based here. “This is certainly a big leap forward in Turkish military electronics.” A procurement official familiar with the program said the production contract would involve scores of Aselsan IFF systems and could go up to $100 million initially. The number will likely rise as more Turkish platforms queue up to be outfitted.

IFF enables military and national interrogation systems to identify aircraft, vehicles or forces as friendly and to determine their bearing and range from the interrogator. IFF may be used by both military and civilian aircraft. The major military benefits of IFF include preventing “friendly fire.”

Aselsan has developed and produced two IFF prototypes for the Turkish military, both of which are for medium-range coverage. Its transponder IFF systems are to be outfitted on naval and aerial military assets, and the interrogator IFF systems for air defense radars. Aselsan’s two major local subcontractors for the prototype outfitted into an F-4/E 2020 aircraft were privately owned electronics and telecom concern Netas Telekomunikasyon and Bilgem, an information technologies and advanced technological research center of Turkey’s state scientific research institute, TUBITAK.

Aselsan, founded in 1975, is owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation. With more than 4,200 employees, Aselsan operates under four main departments: communication services; defense systems; radar, electronic warfare and intelligence systems; and microelectronics, guidance and electro-optics.

In 2011, Aselsan inked an approximately $1 billion contract to sell low- and medium-altitude air defense systems to the Turkish military. This is the largest single contract awarded to a local company in recent years.

Under that contract, Aselsan is developing all radar, fire control, command-and-control and communications systems for both low- and medium-altitude components of the program. Aselsan also will develop and produce missile heads and data links.

Aselsan’s market value was at $1 billion in 2011, according to independent auditors. It has a backlog of orders worth $4.3 billion until 2018.

In 2011, Aselsan reported 1.5 billion Turkish lira ($880 million) in sales, 160.7 million lira in profits and 83 million lira in exports.

via Top Turkish Firm Develops First Local Friend-or-Foe Gear | Defense News | defensenews.com.

March 18, 2013
Israel supplying advanced weaponry to Turkey

Military deal, the fulfillment of an order that was halted after the Mavi Marmara incident, is first of its kind since 2010By MICHAL SHMULOVICH February 18, 2013, 5:56 pm 8

A Turkish F-16. (photo credit: CC BY Ronnie Macdonald, Flickr)RELATED TOPICS

Israel is providing advanced electronic warfare systems for aircraft to Turkey, a fulfillment of an earlier order that was put on hold in the wake of the infamous Mavi Marmara incident in 2010. It is the first instance of a military equipment exchange between Jerusalem and Ankara since then.

Turkey’s Today’s Zaman reported the sale, which will significantly beef up Ankara’s intelligence capabilities, and the aircraft upgrade was confirmed by senior Israeli sources Monday. A source said the deal was approved due to US pressure and Israel’s desire to restore its damaged relationship with Turkey, amid escalating tension between Ankara and Tehran over the Syrian conflict, according to the Hebrew daily Haaretz.

The Syrian civil war has posed additional security challenges for Turkey. In October 2012, five Turkish civilians were killed by Syrian fire, sparking fears that Ankara would be dragged into the regional conflict. Turkey vowed to respond harshly, and it deployed extra jets to its border with Syria in the weeks after the incident.

Turkish soldiers patrol a military station at the border crossing with Syria in Akçakale, across from the Syrian rebel-controlled town of Tel Abyad in October. (photo credit: AP)

The electronic systems are to be integrated into the Turkish Air Force’s Airborne Warning and Control System (AWACS) military aircraft that were purchased from the US in the early 2000s. The system enables the planes to protect themselves from electronic attacks that target its controls during flight, Today’s Zaman reported.

In 2002, Boeing won a $200 million contract to supply Turkey with the four AWACS aircraft — and a $25 million contract to integrate electronic warning systems into the four planes was then won by ELTA, a subsidiary of Israel Aerospace Industries. Boeing supplied the planes to Turkey three years ago. Israel’s fulfillment of the order, however, was halted after it delivered two of the electronic systems in 2011, in the wake of the Mavi Marmara incident.

News about the weapons deal comes less than three months after media reports surfaced that Ankara and Jerusalem were engaging in secret back-channel reconciliation talks despite heightened tensions over Operation Pillar of Defense. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu confirmed that the two countries were trying to find ways to end their diplomatic impasse.

Relations between former close allies Turkey and Israel soured after nine pro-Palestinian activists — eight Turks and a Turkish-American — were killed by Israeli troops aboard the Mavi Marmara vessel, which was part of an international flotilla trying to break the Gaza blockade, on May 31, 2010. Israeli naval commandos commandeered the vessel and were attacked by activists.

Turkey has demanded a formal apology, compensation for victims and the families of the dead, and for the Gaza blockade to be lifted.

Israel has resisted Turkish demands to apologize for the raid on the ship and to compensate those killed as a precondition for normalizing relations. Israel — stressing that its solders were attacked with clubs and poles by violent thugs aboard the vessel, and insisting that its blockade against Gaza, which is run by the terror group Hamas, is legal — has said it “regrets” the loss of life, rather than issuing a full apology, and has offered to pay into what it called a “humanitarian fund” through which casualties and relatives could be compensated.

Turkey disputes Israeli assertions that its soldiers acted in self-defense. The commando operation sparked worldwide condemnation and led to an easing of Israel’s blockade on the the Gaza Strip. A UN report on the Mavi Marmara incident released in 2011 concluded that Israel had used unreasonable force in stopping the ship, but that the blockade on Gaza was legal.

via Israel supplying advanced weaponry to Turkey | The Times of Israel.

February 19, 2013