Tag: Lockheed Martin

Turkey awaits key anti-PKK weapons

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News Ümit Enginsoy

Turkey plans to boosts fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party by acquiring several items of weapons and vehicles worth billions of US dollars.

AgustaWestland will deliver its first T-129 attack helicopter, a joint project with Turkish Aerospace Industries, by the end of this year, an official says.

AgustaWestland will deliver its first T-129 attack helicopter, a joint project with Turkish Aerospace Industries, by the end of this year, an official says.

Ümit Enginsoy Ümit Enginsoy uenginsoy@aol.com

The Turkish military is slated to acquire several weapons systems to use against terrorists from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) this year, one senior procurement official said last week.

Italy’s AgustaWestland and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) have been collaborating on building the T-129 attack helicopter, a Turkish version of the company’s A129 Mangusta International.

AgustaWestland is scheduled to deliver the first nine of a planned 59 helicopters to the military toward the end of 2012.

Turkish authorities then will assemble the required weapons systems on the platforms, and the nine helicopter gunships are expected to enter service in 2013, the official said.

Separately, the United States is expected to deliver three AH-1W Super Cobra attack helicopters early this year. The U.S. Congress approved the sale of these three choppers, worth $125 million, toward the end of 2012.

Additionally, TAI, Turkey’s state-owned aerospace powerhouse, is scheduled to deliver to the military three Anka Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) unmanned aerial vehicles in 2012, to be used for reconnaissance purposes, the official said.

Turkey is already operating nine Israeli-made Heron MALE drones against the PKK. The United States has also deployed another four RQ-1 Predator MALE drones at Turkey’s southern İncirlik airbase to fly over PKK camps in northern Iraq and provide the Turkish military intelligence.

Additionally Turkey has requested to buy four RQ-1 Predator reconnaissance drones and two armed MQ-1 Reapers, but the U.S. has not responded to the request.

In addition to its MALE drone capabilities, the Turkish military operates scores of smaller drones.

Unmanned vehicles

TAI’s efforts to develop and produce the Anka have seen a delay of several years. “Attack helicopters and unmanned aerial vehicles are among the most effective weapons against terrorists, and we will have an abundance of these weapons soon,” said one security official.

The PKK this year intensified terrorist attacks against Turkish military and civilian targets, causing a public outrage.

Separately, the U.S. Boeing is expected to deliver the first of a planned four spy planes to the Turkish Air Force in 2012. The program to manufacture the four Airborne Early Warning & Control (AEW&C) aircraft is worth more than $1.6 billion and is behind schedule a few years.

The Defense Industry Executive Committee, Turkey’s highest procurement agency, is also expected to select a foreign company in Turkey’s $4 billion long range air and missile defense system program. Among the candidates competing to build an air and missile defense system with Turkish partners are U.S. companies Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, with their Patriot Air and Missile Defense System; Russian Rosoboronexport’s S-300; Chinese CPMIEC’s (China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corp.) HQ-9; and European Eurosam’s SAMP/T Aster 30.

The Defense Industry Executive Committee’s members include Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, Chief of the Turkish General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel and Procurement Chief Murad Bayar.

Finally, the committee would select a national commercial shipyard which will manufacture the third through the eighth of the Milgem national corvettes. The first two corvettes were built at a military shipyard. The first corvette, the TCG Heybeliada, already has entered service in the Navy, and the second, the TCG Büyükada, has been put to sea for tests.

January/02/2012

via ECONOMICS – Turkey awaits key anti-PKK weapons.

January 6, 2012
Oksuz: Texas and Turkey could be great partners

The American-Statesman article on trips taken by Texas legislators to Turkey (June 18) calls for some clarification and context. Turkey could become an important trading partner as Texas seeks to compete in the global market. After all, more and more international companies are looking to Turkey for avenues of investment over 1,100 U.S. companies, to date.

Turkey brings to the global stage a stable, Western-oriented, secular democracy offering a growing market for U.S. goods and services.

Sound democratic principles have helped Turkey emerge as a regional power and important trading partner with a rapidly modernizing economy — the 15th largest in the world and 6th largest in Europe. Hence, there is nothing more natural for Texas than to develop political and business relations with this economically strong, democratic country.

The Turkish market remains largely unsaturated, offering a great deal of potential for Texas companies in many fields, from energy to healthcare technologies; new businesses would join the ranks of Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Texas Pacific Group and Lockheed Martin, among other Texas-based companies well-established in the Turkish economy.

At the Turquoise Council of Americans and Eurasians, we have a vision for the future as we work to establish long term friendships and business cooperation.

We believe that stable business relationships are built from dialogues and common experiences. The Turquoise Council trips provide an intensive and informative view of Turkish society on a broad scale. During the nine-day stay, our guests meet with Turkish business leaders within global trade centers and numerous corporate hubs; they meet with many Congressional members at the Turkish House of Representatives who work on parallel committee assignments so as to share mutually beneficial advice on successful governmental measures. To ensure the most effective outcomes, each group maintains a specific theme; Energy, International Trade, US Foreign Policy Interests, Health Care Policies and the Global War on Terror are just a few among many themes. Texas Legislators also visit the US Embassy in Ankara for a briefing on the country and current bilateral relations. These considerations are what make our trade missions so successful.

Turkey`s broad global influence and strategic location make it a prime partner for facilitating joint investment opportunities in other countries.

Our guests are consistently impressed with the level of professional detail we put in to planning our trips; the majority of our guests describe their visit as the most thorough and informative they have ever experienced, this is exemplified by the testimony of every Texas leader that has participated in the trade missions. In January, Texas State Legislators and Turkish Congress members attended the Turkic—Texas Friendship Reception and Awards Dinner in Austin, an event promoting intercultural understanding and goodwill among American, Turkic, and Eurasian attendees in a celebratory environment. We believe that this intercultural dialogue is worthy of celebration and are disheartened by the critical perspective offered only by those who have not further explored the mutually beneficial goals of the TCAE.

Turkey has been a stabilizing influence on Iraq, an effective partner in Afghanistan, a supporter of U.S. policy in Libya, a powerful member of NATO, and a critical ally in the Global War on Terrorism. Since antiquity, present-day Turkey has been situated at the crossroads of civilizations. Its complicated position between the geopolitical “East” and “West” continues to shape the modern world. By supporting and deepening U.S. — Turkic political, cultural, and business ties, the TCAE hopes to advance economic and political interests within the proven framework of democracy, religious freedom and global prosperity. These are our goals as an organization. We hope that those who have participated in all that the council has to offer would share those experiences with those that express criticism without personal experience. There is such incredible potential in our dialogue and cultural exchanges, especially for Texas, a proven economic leader within the United States.

We hope for a better understanding of the mutual needs and ties of Turkey and America, specifically Texas. TCAE believes that the business and political relations between Texas and Turkey go beyond the borders of the two States with the potential to yield wonderful results on many fronts in the world.

Kemal is president of TCAE. kemal_oksuz@turquoisecouncil.org

via Oksuz: Texas and Turkey could be great partners.

July 5, 2011
Europe takes on US to win $16 bln Turkey fighter jet deal

Turkey, with its plan to purchase 100 fighter jets — for which it was going to shake hands with Lockheed Martin for $16 billion, but later suspended due to the American aerospace company’s refusal to share technology with it — has also received an offer from Europe, one that includes the sharing of the know-how Turkey wants.

Speaking to Today’s Zaman on the condition of anonymity, a leading executive from European Eurofighter — an aerospace consortium of Germany, Italy, Spain and the United Kingdom — said they agree to fulfill Turkey’s demands to that end. “We are ready to share all software codes and critical technologies with Turkey,” the official said. Previously the Lockheed Martin director responsible for the F-35s Turkey initially agreed to buy said that what Turkey wanted was not acceptable because of “financial and cost constraints.” The American company declined to comment on the issue despite Eurofighter’s offer.

Earlier in March, Turkey announced that it was putting the planned purchase of 100 F-35 fighter jets from the US on hold because the Pentagon refused to share the source code used in the software designed for the aircraft, as well as the codes that might be used externally to activate the planes. Lockheed is the Pentagon’s top supplier by sales. It builds the F-16, F-22 and F-35 fighter aircraft, as well as the Aegis naval combat system and THAAD missile defense.

Without the source code, Turkish engineers wouldn’t be able to make any changes to the software that operates the jets. The external flight codes are equally important, if not more so, as they can be used externally to navigate the jets.

via zaman

May 31, 2011
U.S. Navy Mixes Business and Politics in Istanbul

U.S. Navy Mixes Business and Politics in Istanbul

May 16, 2011 – 6:17pm, by Joshua Kucera

A U.S.. naval ship, the USS Mahan, visited Istanbul last week for a short port visit. These sorts of things happen all the time and aren’t usually noteworthy. But the blog Bosphorus Naval News paid close attention to this visit, and noted that the visit may have been driven by commercial, rather than merely friendly, motivations. The destroyer’s visit happened to take place during a big defense exposition, IDEF, and the U.S. ambassador’s comments at the expo used the ship as a showpiece for U.S. defense industry:

I join Commander Mondlak and his crew in inviting you to tour the proud USS Mahan. This fine example of American high technology and advanced engineering, and is itself the result of partnerships between numerous American companies, including Lockheed Martin, Raytheon, McDonnell Douglas, General Electric, Alliant, Gould, and Sikorsky, many of whom are represented at IDEF.

In particular, the Mahan has a sort of radar that is under consideration for the next generation of Turkish ships. And U.S. defense contractor Lockheed Martin had just signed a deal with Turkish manufacturer Havelsan involving production of those radars.

The signed contract of course raises the question whether the next generation of Turkish warships will have SPY radars and components of AEGIS systems on board.

The blog, in a separate post, takes issue with that deal given that Turkey also manufactures naval radars:

One of the contracts signed during the fair was between Havelsan and Lockheed Martin for the integration of SPY phased radar systems to the CMS made by Havelsan. The SPY radars are the backbone of the US Navy’s AEGIS air and anti ballistic missile defence system.

Well this question must be asked: On one hand there is a local electronics power house like ASELSAN that is trying to develop naval radar systems on the other hand you sign a deal with a US company about the most important and significant air defence radar systems. How will this deal effect the local development and why it was necessary.

And from an American perspective, one might ask: how often are these sorts of port calls made for commercial reasons? Did Lockheed reimburse the U.S. Navy for the expenses it incurred on this sales visit?

via U.S. Navy Mixes Business and Politics in Istanbul | EurasiaNet.org.

May 17, 2011