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Tag: Turkish defense industry

  • Turkish armored vehicle exports soar

    Turkish armored vehicle exports soar

    ANKARA, Turkey, July 15 (UPI) — Turkish exports of armored vehicles are expanding, including purchases by the United States for the first time.

    A Turkish military senior procurement official involved with supporting Turkish arms exports, speaking on condition of anonymity, told Hurriyet that Turkish armored vehicle manufacturers are expanding beyond their traditional Middle Eastern markets.

    “We are happy to see these companies now chasing deals in parts of the Far East they have not yet sold their products to, and there are initial signs of penetration into difficult markets like the U.S.,” he said “All of that is very encouraging.”

    Turkey’s Defense Industry Manufacturers Association Secretary-General Kaya Yazgan told Hurriyet, “The making of armored vehicles is one of the strongest sectors in our defense industry.”

    Istanbul’s Otokar, which is owned by Turkey’s top business conglomerate Koc Holding, produces seven armored vehicle variants and its 2010 sales to civilian and military clients topped $313 million.

    In May Otokar displayed Turkey’s first indigenously built tank, the Altay, at the IDEF’11 international defense industry fair in Istanbul.

    Head of Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defense Industry Murad Bayar said Altay tanks would be entirely built in Turkey, with Turkish defense industry company Aselsan. It will build the Altay’s electronic systems, providing Identification Friend-or-Foe systems.

    Otokar officials say that Altay tanks will be ready for sale by 2016.

    Otokar exports products to the armed forces of nearly 20 countries.

    Last December Otokar said that it had received its first order from a foreign military for its ARMA new armored combat vehicle, which comes as either a 6×6 or 8×8 wheeled armored vehicle.

    The company added that the ARMA, a modular multi-wheel configuration wheeled armored vehicle, would be exported before making its debut in the Turkish military. The amphibian vehicle weighs 20 tons fully loaded for combat and has a crew consisting of a driver, a commander and eight personnel. ARMA is transportable by various means including C130 aircraft.

    Otokar also builds the Cobra, a 4×4 vehicle, which comes in 10 models designed for different missions. Otokar has sold Cobras to more than 10 other countries and the vehicle has been utilized in a variety of both NATO and U.N. missions.

    “There is increasing demand for the Cobra from an increasing number of countries,” Otokar said in a news release.

    In 2009 Turkey’s total arms exports amounted to $832 million. Other leading Turkish arms manufacturing companies include Hiscar Automotive Industries, Ankara’s FNSS, which is 51 percent owned by Turkish business group Nurol and Izmir’s BMC, which is owned by the Cukurova Holding industrial conglomerate.

    via Turkish armored vehicle exports soar – UPI.com.

  • Britain seeks to boost defense cooperation with Turkey

    Britain seeks to boost defense cooperation with Turkey

    Ümit Enginsoy

    ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

    Despite loose defense industry ties between Turkey and the UK, the British Aerospace Systems wants to develop, produce and export a combat ship with Turkey, according to an executive

    The BAE Systems’ Global Combat Ship program is being developed to deliver multirole ships with anti-submarine, air defence and general purpose variants.
    The BAE Systems’ Global Combat Ship program is being developed to deliver multirole ships with anti-submarine, air defence and general purpose variants.

    Britain, the world’s second largest defense exporter after the United States, but which has little presence in Turkey, has launched a major effort for joint manufacture and joint export to third countries of defense equipment with Ankara, a senior British industry official said Thursday.

    Britain’s defense exports worldwide surpassed 7 billion pounds in 2009, taking a nearly 20 percent share of the global market. But its activities in Turkey, with a flourishing defense industry, in the last 15 years were limited to the production of electronic warfare systems for Turkish F-16 fighter planes by the American arm of BAE Systems, the largest defense company in Britain and Europe and the second-largest in the world.

    Also the American arms of the same company has a 49 percent stake in FNSS, a top Turkish armored vehicles firm, which earlier this year signed a $600 million deal for the export of the Pars, an 8X8 wheeled vehicle, in the largest ever single export contract in Turkey’s history.

    The government of British Prime Minister David Cameron, in power since last year, unofficially has designated Turkey, together with Brazil and India, as top potential strategic partners in the defense industry.

    During a visit to Ankara in January, British Defense Secretary Liam Fox strongly backed Turkey’s membership in the European Union and pledged to bolster defense industry cooperation.

    During IDEF-11 earlier this year, Turkey’s largest defense fair in Istanbul, Alan Garwood, group business development director for BAE Systems, said his company wanted to partner more with the Turkish defense industry.

    Net exporter of defense equipment

    “BAE Systems would be very pleased to collaborate further with Turkey and assist with the country’s aspiration to become a net exporter of defense and security equipment,” Garwood said on May 10.

    The company has considerable experience of assisting in the development of indigenous defense capabilities in markets around the world. In terms of near-term defense collaboration, Garwood identified the naval sector as a good opportunity for Turkey and Britain to work closely together.

    “Turkey has ambitions and aspirations for the development of its local defense industry. By 2023, it wants to become a net exporter of defense goods,” a senior official from BAE Systems told Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review here Thursday.

    “BAE Systems has significant expertise in working with host countries. A commitment between Britain and Turkey to form more business partnership on Global Combat Ships could potentially be a specific opportunity,” said the British official.

    The Global Combat Ship, being developed by BAE Systems, is a future vision of what is now known as frigates in present navies. It is a multirole warship designed to be offered in anti-submarine warfare, air defense and general purpose variants.

    Turkey presently is working to design the features and specifications of its future naval vessels. The British company’s Global Combat Ship is likely to face strong rivals, including U.S. and Italian firms in a future competition.

    BAE Systems also is a partner of the pan-European Eurofigher consortium, whose other partners include Italian, German and Spanish companies and which makes the European Typhoon fighter planes. Eurofighter seeks to include Turkey in the development and manufacture of the aircraft’s new versions.

    via Britain seeks to boost defense cooperation with Turkey – Hurriyet Daily News.

  • Turkey Meets Over Half Its Defense Requirements Domestically

    Turkey Meets Over Half Its Defense Requirements Domestically

    Turkey Meets Over Half Its Defense Requirements Domestically

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 8 Issue: 100

    May 24, 2011

    By: Saban Kardas

    The 10th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF), held in Istanbul on May 10 – 13, was an important venue to demonstrate the transformation of the Turkish defense industry in recent years. Organized biannually since the 1990s, the event featured over 600 companies or company representatives from 49 countries, including Turkey, while delegations from over 70 countries visited (www.idef11.com). Delivering an address at the inauguration, President Abdullah Gul reiterated the importance Turkey attaches to the defense industry. He referred to Turkey’s efforts to increase local input in defense procurement through greater utilization of various joint production programs and boosting domestically designed production (Star, May 11).

    Despite some international representation, the fair largely served to exhibit products of Turkish producers, as well as to publicize the achievements of Turkey’s flagship defense projects in recent years. Leading defense companies such as Lockheed Martin, Boeing and EADS were also present, but Western defense observers reportedly maintained that “in nature, the fair remains mostly a Turkish, regional and Middle Eastern event.” In a development reflecting the regional nature of the event, the largest deal struck at IDEF 2011 was reportedly an agreement for Turkey’s export defense equipment to Qatar, including small unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), worth $120 million (Hurriyet Daily News, May 13).

    Armored vehicles, Turkey’s major export items, which find buyers in the Middle East and South Asia, were on display at the event. Moreover, a great deal of publicity was devoted to Turkey’s main battle tank project, which was developed in partnership with South Korea’s Hyundai Rotem, supplying the technological know-how (EDM, August 7, 2008). Turkish military vehicle producer, Otokar, introduced the first prototype of the tank at the fair, named Altay. Otokar expects the tanks to be ready for sale by 2016.

    Similarly, the results of Turkey’s national warship projects were also publicized at the fair. A Turkish corvette designed and produced in Turkey’s shipbuilding yards was on display. In recent years, Turkey has placed greater emphasis on developing its national capacity to build warships of different classes to meet the Navy’s needs. Murad Bayar, the head of the Under Secretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM), the organization in charge of procurement programs, argued recently that Turkey is capable of producing aircraft carriers domestically (Star, May 8).

    Another high publicity weapons system on display was various UAV projects. The Turkish armed forces use several small-sized UAVs produced in Turkey and SSM has recently signed a contract with another defense manufacturing firm to produce tactical UAVs (Anadolu Ajansi, January 4). Turkey has also been working to develop a national medium-altitude long-endurance (MALE) UAV system to reduce its dependence on the United States and Israel for strategic intelligence gathering. ASELSAN, contractor for Turkey’s MALE UAV project, announced recently that its UAV, named ANKA, successfully passed test flights and could become operational in one year’s time. Defense industry analysts expect the UAV market to record rapid growth in the coming years. They argue that with its recent investments in the UAV sector, Turkey is poised to emerge as a leading supplier in its region (Haberturk, May 9).

    Turkey is also working on a national attack helicopter project, ATAK, in partnership with Italy. Meanwhile, to meet the Turkish army’s needs for general attack helicopters, Turkey has been evaluating various offers for some time (EDM, July 7, 2009). Turkey finally made a decision on a long-awaited tender and awarded the deal to U.S. Sikorsky. Turkish Defense Minister, Vecdi Gonul, described the $3.5 billion deal as a milestone, as it would involve joint helicopter production (Anadolu Ajansi, April 21).

    Although foreign participation remained limited, the expanding product line on display at IDEF underscored the transformation of the Turkish defense industry and its expanding potential to meet the needs of the armed forces. In that regard, the recent figures released by the Defense Industry Manufacturers’ Association also represented a bright picture for the sector (Anadolu Ajansi, April 26). In 2010, 52 percent of Turkish armed forces weapons systems needs were supplied by domestic producers. This development was seen as a success story, as the SSM had set the target of meeting 50 percent of the TAF’s needs domestically. In 2003, the ratio of domestic production in the military procurement total was only 25 percent.

    At the same time, the total volume of Turkish arms exports reached $634.2 million in 2010, five percent less than the previous year, reflecting the impact of the global financial crisis. Nonetheless, considering that in 2004 Turkey’s exports were only $196 million, there is a visible improvement in its overall export potential. Representatives of the sector aim to reach an annual export volume of $1 billion this year and $2 billion by 2016. According to other statistics, total revenues for Turkish defense firms reached $2.7 billion in 2010, again a significant leap from $848 million ten years earlier. Reflecting this growing economic potential, Turkey invested over $500 million in research and development activities in 2010.

    Determined to maintain this momentum, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan argued during a recent meeting with businessmen that the Turkish defense industry’s annual revenues will exceed $8 billion in five years (Hurriyet, May 19). Indeed, it has been part of Erdogan’s goals to achieve self-sufficiency in military procurement since his party came to power in 2002. In 2004, Turkey overhauled its military modernization programs and rules on military procurement, seeking to increase the domestically manufactured share. The recent advances in that direction have pleased Erdogan, as he constantly refers to the transformation of the Turkish defense industry in his state of the union addresses (Anadolu Ajansi, October 30, 2010).

    While Turkey was largely dependent on defense sector imports during the 1990s, the military modernization programs during that decade were focused on joint production with foreign manufacturers to supply the Turkish army. These facilitated the emergence of a domestic arms industry. In the last decade, the Turkish defense industry has increasingly shifted in the direction of national design and production, based on the accumulated experience and technology transfers achieved through international partnerships. This growth, which is geared toward meeting the Turkish army’s needs, has been achieved largely thanks to support and protection provided by the Turkish government. Yet, the Turkish defense industry seems to be moving to a new phase of mass production for international markets, where it is likely to face fiercer competition.

    https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-meets-over-half-its-defense-requirements-domestically/

  • Turkey to design, produce its own fighter jet

    Turkey to design, produce its own fighter jet

    “The decision we have taken now calls for the production of a totally national and original aircraft,” Gonul told reporters last week after a meeting of the powerful Defense Industry Executive Committee decided to nix plans to purchase 60 of the latest Typhoon jet fighters. “This move by the committee effectively is a decision for making Turkey’s first fighter aircraft,” Gonul said. “The Eurofighter is off Turkey’s agenda.”

    F16

    According to reports, the new aircraft would replace the aging US-made F-4, which had been upgraded by Israel to last well into the next decade, as well as newer F-16s. The expected roll out date for Turkey’s twin-engine combat jet would reportedly be about 2023.

    Ankara has already announced it plans to procure some 100 of the next-generation F-35s Joint Strike Fighter aircraft in a deal worth about $15 billion. The first JSF jets are expected to be delivered around 2015. According to Defense News, however, Turkey would take the approximately 30 F-16 fighters only as a “stopgap” measure.

    The decision to fly solo in developing a fighter jet comes as Turkey distances itself from its North Atlantic Treaty Organization partners in Europe and North America, and seeks closer ties with its Middle Eastern neighbors. In November, Turkey disputed NATO plans for a missile shield against a possible Iranian attack and has objected to the alliance sharing information with Israel.

    Turkey assembles the F-16s on contract from Lockheed Martin at a Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) plant. The government named state-controlled TAI, based on the outskirts of Ankara, as the general coordinator of the new fighter jet project. The Turkish Defense Industry’s Procurement agency SSM has allotted some $20 million for a two-year conceptual design study.

    “It’s a large endeavor. I’m skeptical that they would be able to do the project on their own since Turkey didn’t have the adequate technological know-how,” said one aerospace executive intimately involved with the design and production of the Israeli fighter jet Lavi in the 1980s.

    “But it’s not just technological know-how. Developing a fighter jet requires billions and billions of dollars. It’s certainly not the same as assembling an aircraft. It takes a very long time to develop the technology and then you need to have the influx of funding to bring it all together,” the executive, who spoke on condition he not be named, told The Media Line.

    Turkish industry officials told The Media Line that the government decision didn’t make sense. Turkey was currently so heavily engaged in joint international aircraft design projects such as the F-35 that it wouldn’t be feasible to embark on such a costly and risky venture, the officials said.

    While hardly world class, the Turkish defense industry is growing and modernizing. But it remains dependent on foreign technology. TAI has designed the Hurkus, a basic training aircraft, but it has yet to make its maiden flight. It has also rolled out an unmanned aerial vehicle this year called the ANKA.

    “Development is very, very expensive. Israel was a small country without a big defense budget. Even when we had the infrastructure we decided to give up on it because it was just too expensive,” the executive said, adding that any development today would likely be more successful with international partners.

    Israel eventually scrapped the Lavi — built to be a competitor with the F-16 –under heavy US pressure and from a lack of funds.

    Defense Minister Gonul said Turkey might cooperate with South Korea, which was developing the KF-X fighter jet with Indonesia. However, that project has sputtered due to lack of funding.

    Arabnews