Turkish Forum

Tag: defence industry

  • First F-16 produced in Turkey delivered to THK

    First F-16 produced in Turkey delivered to THK

    Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has delivered the first Falcon (F-16) fighter jet produced in Turkey to the Turkish Air Forces (THK).

    fighter

    According to the information Today’s Zaman received from Ministry of Defense sources, TAI recently delivered one of the 50 planned F-16 fighter jets to the THK. The US Congress on Oct. 15, 2006, approved the program to assemble new planes to be carried out at the TAI facility, while the engines of the fighter jet will be produced at the TUSAŞ Engine Industries (TEI) factory in the province of Eskişehir. While the first F-16 fully produced in Turkey was recently delivered, the source said the other 49 F-16s will be completed by the end of 2012.

    Turkey chose the F-16 to use in its air force in the early 1980s and TAI was established soon after the decision. Between 1987 and 1995, TAI assembled 152 planes in the first phase of the F-16 project. The second phase took place between 1995 and 1999, during which 80 planes were assembled. Turkey received its first overseas order for F-16 planes from the Egyptian Air Force in 1993 and assembled 46 planes for them. TAI recently upgraded the first of 17 planes for Jordan’s air force in the context of a modernization program.

    F-16 fighter jets can reach a top speed of 2,124 kilometers per hour, twice the speed of sound. They have a high level of maneuverability even at low speeds and can accelerate or decelerate in a very short time. The planes can fly 860 kilometers with a full fuel tank when fully armed. The F-16 can detect even planes flying at very low altitudes with its powerful radar system.

    Meanwhile, THK has also recently agreed to buy 30 advanced F-16 Block 50 fighter jets from the US company Lockheed Martin Aeronautics. These new F-16s are an upgraded version of the older ones. The fuel tanks, which were outside the body of the old F-16s, are now inside the body of the Block 50 type jets. It has also newer guns and electronic systems, the source said, adding that value of the agreement on buying Block 50 fighter jets from the US is estimated at around $1.7 billion.

    via zaman

  • President Gül opens international defense fair in İstanbul

    President Gül opens international defense fair in İstanbul

    President Abdullah Gül officially opened the 10th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF’11) at İstanbul’s Tüyap Convention Center in Büyükçekmece on Tuesday.

    President Abdullah Gül is seen next to the unmanned aerial vehicle Anka, developed by Turkey’s Tusaş Engine Industries (TIE) during the 10th International Defense Industry Fair in İstanbul’s Tüyap Convention Center.
    President Abdullah Gül is seen next to the unmanned aerial vehicle Anka, developed by Turkey’s Tusaş Engine Industries (TIE) during the 10th International Defense Industry Fair in İstanbul’s Tüyap Convention Center.

    President Abdullah Gül is seen next to the unmanned aerial vehicle Anka, developed by Turkey’s Tusaş Engine Industries (TIE) during the 10th International Defense Industry Fair in İstanbul’s Tüyap Convention Center.

    During his remarks Gül emphasized the significance of hosting this fair in a city that connects two continents and has become an important center in its geographic region. “Especially in recent years, Turkey has placed greater importance on its national defense industry. Designing our own defense products and producing them using only domestic resources are big steps towards the development of this sector in Turkey,” Gül noted.

    The fair, which will run May 10-13, will host many chiefs of general staff, defense ministers and military authorities from around the world. High-level military staff will have the opportunity to exchange views during their visit to IDEF’11, while foreign arms manufacturers and other defense contractors will also have the opportunity to establish important business contacts.

    A total of 575 domestic and foreign companies from 44 countries — including Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI), Aselsan, Roketsan, FNSS Defense Systems, Otokar and more — have gathered for the defense fair. Turkey’s Tusaş Engine Industries (TIE) will present its unmanned aerial vehicle, while Aselsan will participate with its 60-ton Leopard 2A4 tank. An active remote controlled defense and surveillance system called Nöbetçi, which is aimed at replacing sentries at military bunkers and outposts, will also be exhibited.

    The Turkish president also shared his views on rising tensions in the Middle East and North Africa, saying that maintaining peace, stability and security in the world should be a priority for all countries. “In order to achieve this [peace, stability and security] it is certain that appropriate policies, politics and other tools are necessary. We need to understand that the defense industry is indispensable for preventing wars around the world, not to get involved in wars,” Gül said. “A country which does not have sufficient preparations to dissuade threats will be an open target.”

    After the fair opening, Gül, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül and Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner also opened the booth for Turkey’s first national tank, the Altay, which is being presented to the public for the first time.

    zaman

  • US approves Saudi cargo plane sale to Turkey

    US approves Saudi cargo plane sale to Turkey

    ÜMİT ENGİNSOY

    ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

    Turkey inked a deal last summer with Saudi Arabia to purchase the six C-130E cargo planes.
    Turkey inked a deal last summer with Saudi Arabia to purchase the six C-130E cargo planes.

    The United States has approved the sale to Turkey by Saudi Arabia of six U.S.-made C-130E military cargo planes, senior Turkish and U.S. officials said late Monday.

     

    Turkey struck a deal last summer with Saudi Arabia to purchase the six older cargo planes.

    The U.S. approval in late April comes at a time when two transport aircraft programs Turkey is involved in are faltering or facing major delays.

    One procurement official told the Hürriyet Daily News that the planes were being purchased at a very reasonable price, but declined to specify a figure. An industry source suggested the unit price was less than $10 million.

    The permission of the United States, the original manufacturer of the planes, was needed. “We weren’t expecting any major problems on this, and everything worked out well. We’re happy about this,” the procurement official said.

    The planes are expected to arrive in Turkey later this year. The Turkish Air Force already is flying the older C-130B and C-130E models of the C-130 family, acquired from the United States decades ago.

    As a member of the pan-European Airbus A400 consortium, Turkey has been planning to buy 10 A400M cargo planes, but the program has been facing major delays.

    On the local C-130 upgrade front, Turkey’s efforts to achieve the avionic modernization of the Air Force’s 13 planes also have faced delays.

    Currently, the Turkish Air Force also has 19 older European-made C-160s, which originally were planned to eventually be replaced by the A400.

    In addition, the Turkish military is operating about 50 CN-235 light transport aircraft Turkish Aerospace Industry, or TAI, had co-produced with Spain’s CASA in the 1980s and 1990s.

    via US approves Saudi cargo plane sale to Turkey – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.

  • Turkey to choose new military helicopter model next week

    Turkey to choose new military helicopter model next week

    The Defense Industry Executive Committee, Turkey’s top decision-making body on procurement, is expected to select a winner next week for a $4 billion contract to produce about a hundred military-grade helicopters. The main contenders are Italy’s AgustaWestland and the U.S.’ Sikorsky Aircraft

    Sikorsky says it has a fourfold benefit package worth billions of dollars to offer to Turkey. Bloomberg photo

    Turkey next week is due to select a winner in a competition between an Italian firm and a U.S. company for a major program to jointly produce its military’s next utility helicopter type. The contenders vying for the $4 billion contract are the mainly Italian AgustaWestland and the U.S. Sikorsky Aircraft Corp.

    The Defense Industry Executive Committee, Turkey’s top decision-making body on defense procurement – whose members include Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül, Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner and procurement chief Murad Bayar – will gather Dec. 15, one senior procurement official told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review on Wednesday.

    “The committee is expected to choose a winner for our utility helicopter program at next week’s meeting,” the official said.

    AgustaWestland is proposing its TUHP 149, a Turkish version of its A149, a newly developed utility helicopter. The A149’s full prototype will have its first flight in January.

    Sikorsky Aircraft is offering the T-70, the Turkish version of the S-70 Black Hawk International, which can be found in the inventories of dozens of countries around the world, including Turkey.

    The competition is for a first batch of 109 utility helicopters, mostly for the military and security forces. But the number is expected to rise to about 300 in later years.

    A top Sikorsky official announced in early October that his company had a fourfold benefit package worth billions of dollars to offer to Turkey. “If Turkey selects us for the 109 helicopter program, we will buy another 109 to be manufactured in Turkey, and export them to third countries,” Steve Estill, vice president for strategic partnerships at the Sikorsky president’s office, said at the time.

    Sikorsky also is proposing to buy $1.3 billion worth of Turkish-made helicopter components, to set up a regional Black Hawk support base in Turkey and to invest in a future Turkish project to build a light utility helicopter, Estill said.

    Tough competition

    AgustaWestland shortly later challenged Sikorsky’s proposal. “Our competition is offering the manufacture under license of an already existing product,” Guiseppe Orsi, chief executive officer of AgustaWestland said in late October. “We are offering much, much more. We are offering Turkey to become a joint developer of a brand-new product. Turkey may become a real helicopter player in the world if it chooses us.”

    Orsi said nearly 8,000 utility helicopters are expected to be replaced in the world in the upcoming decades, suggesting that his company’s Turkish program could grab international orders for at least 800 of those.

    Assuming that each helicopter’s acquisition price and its lifetime maintenance cost are both are around $25 million, and the TUHP program gets orders for 800 platforms over the next 25-30 years, “the program would collect a total of $40 billion, half of which would go to Turkey,” he said.

    Turkey’s Army, Navy, Air Force, Special Operations Command and Coast Guard Command are among the buyers of the first batch of military utility helicopters.

    The Turkish Aerospace Industries, or TAI, Turkey’s main aerospace manufacturer, officially will be the program’s prime contractor. Several other Turkish firms also will take part in the production.

    Presently, the Turkish military is operating several different types of utility helicopters. The military has more than 100 S-70s, more than 100 older U.S.-made UH-1 Hueys, around 20 French-designed AS-532 Cougars and about 15 Russian Mi-17s.

    AgustaWestland secured two earlier contracts, worth billions of dollars each, to lead the joint production of 60 T-129 attack helicopters for the Turkish Army.

  • Turkey plans new steps to boost defense exports

    Turkey plans new steps to boost defense exports

    Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries put forth steps and strategies to boost exports by the defense industry.

    Sunday, 28 November 2010 15:37

    shipTurkey’s Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) put forth steps and strategies to boost exports by the defense industry.

    The Undersecretariat prepared export strategies for integration of the defense industry sector to the international market.

    A credit mechanism will be formed and the Association of Defense Industry Exporters will be established to increase service and product exports, officials told the AA correspondent.

    Products of the defense industry will be promoted and marketed in the international platform in a more effective way.

    Turkish defense sector can claim a strong presence in the market in a broad range of areas: from aerospace, naval shipbuilding, and tracked and wheeled armored vehicles, to specialized textile, armaments and munitions, missiles and rocketry and advanced defence electronics.

    AA