Tag: Vecdi Gönül

Turkey to partner with Sikorsky to export choppers to countries in region

Turkey will become an important hub for producing and exporting choppers in the near future, Ministry of Defense officials told the Anatolia news agency on Wednesday.

Sikorsky’s Blackhawk S-70i model is likely to be the kind of helicopter Turkey and the American aerospace company will export.

Sikorsky’s Blackhawk S-70i model is likely to be the kind of helicopter Turkey and the American aerospace company will export.

The source said that Turkey and American company Sikorsky will produce choppers in Turkey and start exports as soon as possible to third countries. He noted that Turkey aims to acquire know-how in the defense field with this project in order to make the country a potential helicopter production hub.

Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül announced on April 21 that Sikorsky had won a $3.5 billion deal to sell 109 choppers to Turkey. Under the agreement, part of those 109 choppers would be produced in Turkey. According to details Gönül shared with the media at that time, the Sikorsky helicopters to be produced in Turkey would be designed specifically for Turkey’s needs in the 10-ton category, each with a capacity to carry 18 passengers. The choppers will be produced according to a 10-year plan and used for multiple purposes, from defense to firefighting. The state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is the main contracting party for the production of certain parts.

The source mentioned that, besides the agreement to sell helicopters to Turkey, Sikorsky agreed to export at least 200 choppers produced in Turkey to its customers around the world. The official underlined that Turkey had acquired an important opportunity for the transfer of know-how in defense technology from the United States with this agreement. “Soon or later, Turkey will become an important center for producing and exporting these helicopters,” officials said. According to the agreement, local companies in Turkey will produce the transmission, engine, software, avionic and optical systems, flight remote systems and the landing gear of the helicopters.

A leap forward in Turkish defense industry

While opening the country’s defense industry to the world, Turkey has placed greater importance on its national defense industry in the past few years than it has in the history of the republic.

As the infrastructure of its defense sector improved, the country began designing and producing its own defense products using only domestic resources. The 10th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF’11), which was recently held in İstanbul with the participation of 575 domestic and foreign companies from 44 countries, was a recent opportunity to observe the transformation the Turkish defense industry has undergone in the past few years. Turkey introduced a number of firsts in its defense industry at this fair to attract the attention of foreign customers. Turkey’s first domestically built warship, the Heybeliada, Turkey’s first national tank, the Altay, Turkey’s first guided bomb, produced by Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKEK) and developed by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBİTAK), as well as its first domestically produced rifles were among the products exhibited at IDEF’11.

In other figures that further highlight the increased activity in the Turkish defense industry, defense product manufacturers earned total revenue of $2.73 billion and spent $666 million in research and development activities last year, up from $2.31 billion and $505 million, respectively, in 2009. In February, a Turkish defense company secured a $600 million deal –Turkey’s largest single sale in defense industry exports — in Malaysia.

In line with these developments, international companies have placed the Turkish defense industry on the top of their potential partner countries. The head of French missile and missile systems producer MBDA said in a previous statement they see potential for cooperation with Turkey’s strong defense industry. Antoine Bouvier, CEO of MBDA, told the Anatolia news agency that Turkey’s defense industry has made strategic investments in the recent past and that his company could be involved in more partnerships with companies from Turkey. “We see strong potential in Turkey for cooperation in various fields of the defense industry,” Bouvier said.

via Turkey to partner with Sikorsky to export choppers to countries in region.

May 26, 2011
Turkey’s Copter Decision Delayed Again – Defense News

By UMIT ENGINSOY and BURAK EGE BEKDIL

ANKARA – Turkey’s top procurement body has once again delayed a much expected multibillion-dollar decision planned for April 12 to select between U.S. and Italian companies to lead production of Turkey’s next-generation military utility helicopters.

The key reason is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ongoing visit to the parliamentary assembly of the Council of Europe in Strasbourg, France. The members of the Defense Industry Executive Committee, the top procurement body, are Erdogan, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Isik Kosaner and procurement chief Murad Bayar.

One procurement official said the decision now is expected to be announced toward the end of next week.

The competition pits the U.S. Sikorsky Aircraft, offering its T-70, the Turkish version of its S-70 Black Hawk International, against Italy’s AgustaWestland, which is competing with its TUHP 149, the Turkish version of its newly developed A-149.

The contract is expected to be worth about $4 billion initially. This first batch will be for 109 utility helicopters, but with follow-on orders, more than 300 platforms are expected to be built, with a price tag of more than $10 billion, according to defense analysts.

The decision originally was expected at committee meetings on Dec. 15 and March 22.

via Turkey’s Copter Decision Delayed Again – Defense News.

April 18, 2011
Turkey’s homegrown UAV makes first flight

By Gayle Putrich

Turkey’s first unmanned aerial vehicle quietly made its first flight 30 December, according to Turkish defence officials.

Called the Anka – which translates to “phoenix” in English – the 10m-long (33ft) composite UAV flew for about 14 minutes. It is designed to stay aloft for up to 24h with a 200kg (441lb) payload.

The Anka-A, the surveillance version of the aircraft, was unveiled 16 July has cost more than $100 million to design and develop. The sensor kit, being built by Aselsan, includes the company’s Aselflir-300T electro-optical/infra red (EO/IR) sensor and a synthetic aperture radar/ ground moving target indicator. The EO/IR sensor is expected to reach initial operational capability by September, with both up and running by the close of 2011. Turkish Aerospace Industries is also reportedly developing an armed version of the UAV, the Anka-B.

Turkey quickly followed up the medium-altitude long-endurance Anka’s first flight with a another boost to the country’s growing UAV industry — a 4 January agreement between the Turkish defence industry undersecretariat and the Turkey-based Vestel Defense Corporation to develop a tactical unmanned aerial vehicle for the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The ministry aims to end Turkey’s need to import its military’s UAVs, says defence minister Vecdi Gonul.

“I am happy to express that, with the mini and tactical unmanned aerial vehicles and ANKA unmanned aerial vehicle manufactured by the Turkish Aerospace Industries, Turkey’s dependency on foreign sources for the supply of the unmanned aerial vehicles has ended, Gonul also said.

Vestel, a defence subsidiary of a Turkish home appliance and electronics company, is developing the Karayel tactical UAV, which will fly up to 20h at an altitude of 22,000ft with a payload of up to 80kg (176lbs).

via Boeing 747 and Airbus A380 Aircraft News from Flightglobal.

January 5, 2011
Turkey to build indigenous fighter jets

Turkey’s top defense procurement committee decided late Wednesday that Ankara would develop and manufacture its next air-to-air fighter aircraft, either by itself or in cooperation with another country, Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül said.

Gönül told reporters after a meeting of the Defense Industry Executive Committee that the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, Turkey’s procurement agency, would start talks with Turkish Aerospace Industries, the country’s main aerospace company, for a “conceptual design” of a fighter aircraft and a jet trainer to be built after the year 2020.

“This … effectively is a decision for the making of Turkey’s first fighter aircraft,” he said.

Committee members include Gönül, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, Chief of the General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner and procurement chief Murad Bayar.

Gönül also said Turkey has rejected an offer by the Eurofighter consortium for the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters. “The Eurofighter is off Turkey’s agenda,” he said.

The minister said Turkey may cooperate with South Korea, but implied that this is a small possibility. “We can manufacture the new fighter aircraft with them, we don’t rule this out. But the decision we have taken now calls for the production of a totally national and original aircraft,” he said.

The Eurofighter consortium, the Italian government and Italian companies had recently stepped up efforts for joint development and sale to Turkey of up to 60 jets. Italian Deputy Defense Minister Guido Crosetti in October said Rome wanted to develop a fighter aircraft with Turkey.

Seeking equal partnership

Separately, Turkish and South Korean officials earlier have said that Turkey, South Korea and Indonesia jointly may develop the South Korean-led KF-X fighter aircraft.

But Turkey is now stepping back from this option. “What we need is a true and equal partnership for the development of a fighter. The problem is that South Korea is not likely to agree to an equal partnership,” a senior Turkish procurement officer told the HDN, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Turkey already has selected the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II as one of its next-generation fighter aircraft types. It plans to buy about 100 F-35 aircraft worth nearly $15 billion. Many Turkish companies are members of the Joint Strike Fighter consortium of nine Western countries, and are producing parts for the aircraft. Turkey also will receive 30 modern F-16 Block 50 fighters from Lockheed Martin as a stopgap solution until F-35 deliveries begin around 2015.

Minister Gönül said Turkey’s newly designed fighter aircraft “would be a next-generation type, would replace the [U.S.-made] F-4Es and would function well with the F-16 and the F-35.” He therefore confirmed that the new aircraft mostly would be meant for air-to-air fighting.

Meanwhile, a much expected selection of the military’s next utility helicopter type did not come at the Defense Industry Executive Committee meeting. AgustaWestland and Sikorsky Aircraft are vying for the joint manufacture of 109 helicopters, worth up to $4 billion.

“The offers … were insufficient,” Gönül said. “Talks with both companies will continue, but we think that they should reduce their prices.”

Thursday, December 16, 2010

ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

December 18, 2010
Turkey Maintains Reservations About US Missile Defense

Turkey Maintains Reservations About US Missile Defense

Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 190

October 21, 2010 02:11

By: Saban Kardas

Turkey’s position on US efforts to create a ballistic missile defense (BMD) system in Europe has emerged as another source of tension in US-Turkish relations. The Bush administration originally contemplated the installment of a missile shield in Eastern Europe, yet failed to achieve its stated objectives in the face of strong Russian opposition. At the time, Turkey expressed a cautious position on such proposals, arguing that it should not proceed in a manner threatening to Russia. Recently, the Obama administration revived the idea as a central component of its policy of containing the threat posed by the Iranian nuclear program.

Turkey has been considered as a possible location for the system, possibly hosting a radar battery on its soil, which would detect missiles launched from its surrounding regions so that they could be intercepted by missiles stationed in Turkey or Eastern Europe. The US also moved to present the revamped program as a joint NATO project, in obvious attempts to garner wider diplomatic support, and perhaps ease Ankara’s concerns. However, given Turkey’s position on the Iranian nuclear issue, which already had pitted it against the US, Ankara has remained lukewarm towards invitations from Washington to join the project. The recent trend in Turkish foreign policy towards pursuing independent policies and growing questions as to whether it is still committed to the Alliance and its traditional relations with the US has made Turkey’s position all the more puzzling.

This issue has been at Turkey’s doorsteps visibly at least since Admiral Mike Mullen, the Chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, visited Turkey in early September (EDM, September 8). Similarly, during his visit to Turkey in early October, NATO Secretary-General, Anders Fogh Rasmussen, discussed this issue (www.cnnturk.com, October 8). Ankara’s position was again one of the main items when NATO foreign and defense ministers met on October 14 in Brussels to discuss the Alliance’s new strategic concept, which will be adopted at the NATO summit in Lisbon next month. Rasmussen urged alliance members to consider the proposal for adopting a missile shield seriously against threats from rogue states, as underlined in the draft strategic concept.

In Brussels, Turkish foreign and defense ministers, Ahmet Davutoglu and Vecdi Gonul, respectively, held a separate meeting with their US counterparts Hillary Clinton and Robert Gates. They conveyed Turkish concerns, especially its uneasiness with the proposed system being perceived as targeting Iran and Syria. They emphasized that the project must proceed as a defensive system, without designating any country as a potential aggressor. Otherwise, it could make these countries feel encircled and heighten tensions in the region. Turkey also reportedly expressed its desire to place the system under NATO’s command, and have it cover the entire territory of NATO members. Regarding the use of Turkish territory as a possible site for the system, the Turkish side apparently maintained its reservations (Dogan, October 14; Cihan, October 16).

Speaking to reporters upon his return to Turkey, Gonul, however, did not rule out Turkey’s participation. Gonul rejected labeling Turkey’s stance as simply putting up objections, noting that the two sides were negotiating, which will continue until the Lisbon summit. Interestingly, Gates also denied speculation that the US was pressuring Turkey and said they were simply continuing negotiations with an ally. Gonul preferred to highlight the potential benefits of the missile shield for Turkey’s own security. Referring to some smaller scale defense systems Turkey is undertaking, Gonul maintained that if a future NATO missile shield also covers Turkey, it might help the country save huge costs (Zaman, October 16, October 17).

Gonul apparently sees some opportunity for Turkey to participate in the missile shield project, since most of the costs would be borne by the United States. Turkey has considered missile defense systems since the 1990’s, but has failed to build an operational system, given its inability to shoulder the enormous costs of such a project and its limited technological know-how. One Turkish defense expert, Mustafa Kibaroglu, stressed that Turkey might opt to benefit from this project by seeking to gain a say in the decision making processes of the system and sharing technological expertise (Hurriyet Daily News, October 20).

During his trip to the US where he attended the 29th annual American-Turkish Council (ATC) conference in Washington, Gonul, accompanied by Turkish government officials and diplomats, continued the talks on the issue with their American counterparts. “Contrary to some press reports, we are not pressuring Turkey to make a contribution. But we do look to Turkey to support NATO’s adoption at the Lisbon summit of a territorial missile defense capability,” Gates said, underscoring the ongoing difficulties in bridging the differences of opinion (Today’s Zaman, October 20).

Unlike Davutoglu, who has been the architect of Turkey’s controversial Iran policy, Gonul might be less concerned about Turkey’s Iran portfolio and more sympathetic to the idea of benefiting from the missile shield project. Nonetheless, Ankara’s reservations over the ramifications of the project for its relations with its neighbors still run deep. Davutoglu has emphasized on many occasions that Turkey does not perceive any threats from the Middle East, and recently added that regional countries do not pose a threat to NATO, either (www.cnnturk.com, October 20).

Turkey might increasingly find itself between a rock and a hard place. Irrespective of whether NATO designates any targets, Iran, whom the US has already dubbed as a “rogue state,” might nonetheless perceive the missile shield as a threat. Turkey, thus, will find it hard to explain its support for the missile shield to its Middle Eastern neighbors, especially as it pursues a “zero problems with neighbors” policy and forges deeper regional integration in the Middle East. In contrast, given the deep-running problems currently bedeviling US-Turkish relations, caused by the row over the Iranian nuclear issue and Turkey’s disputes with Israel, Turkey might not afford to be the deal-breaker at NATO. Ankara already sparked the ire of the US and other NATO members, when it contemplated vetoing Rasmussen’s election last year (EDM, April 6, 2009).

Nonetheless, it may still be too early to determine the conditions under which Turkey could give its consent. Indeed, Turkey might prefer to continue “negotiations” on this issue until the Lisbon summit, and perhaps beyond.

https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-maintains-reservations-about-us-missile-defense/

October 21, 2010
US wants backing on missile shield plans, Turkey insists on terms

Turkey has insisted that a planned NATO anti-missile system should not be perceived as a threat against any of its eastern neighbors with which its economic and political relations have particularly flourished in the last few years, while US authorities called on Ankara to approve hosting a part of the Europe-wide shield.

Speaking at panel discussions held as part of the two-day 29th Annual American-Turkish Council (ATC) Conference in Washington on Monday, Turkish Minister of Defense Vecdi Gönül and US Defense Secretary Robert Gates both said the talks over the proposed missile shield are continuing on the basis of mutual trust and dialogue as two allies. “Contrary to some press reports, we are not pressuring Turkey to make a contribution. But we do look to Turkey to support NATO’s adoption at the Lisbon summit of a territorial missile defense capability,” Gates said, addressing the high-profile audience of politicians and businessmen from both sides on Monday in the US capital.

Amid these calls from the US for approval, Turkey is particularly seeking guarantees from the West for the system not to be perceived as an anti-Iran or anti-Russia move while also trying to reduce the cost of a national anti-missile shield by agreeing to host a part of it at the NATO’s Lisbon summit next month.

Gönül underlined that Ankara in principle supports the idea of the anti-missile system but said it should counter the full range of ballistic missile threats. Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said recently that Turkey does not perceive any threat from any neighboring countries and does not think its neighbors present a threat to NATO, either. The transatlantic alliance, on the other hand, says the system is intended to defend all its members against possible missile attacks by “rogue states.” NATO operates by consensus and needs approval of its 28 members for the proposed system to be put into practice. Earlier, Gönül also underlined that his government was seeking an agreement on technical issues, including how the NATO-wide shield system would affect Turkey’s national missile system and if it would cover the entire country as well.

Gönül and Gates were the luncheon speakers on Monday.

On the sidelines of a panel discussion the same day, US Assistant Secretary of Defense for International Security Affairs Alexander Vershbow however — without naming the missile defense issue outright — called on Ankara to “demonstrate publicly” that bilateral and NATO alliance relations were moving forward. He made references to Turkey’s refusal of a new round of UN sanctions against Iran and also its tense relations with Israel but assessed the issues in the context of the run-up to the Lisbon summit.

“Unfortunately, Turkey’s statements and actions last spring regarding Israel and Iran have contributed to a political environment in which it may be more difficult to move forward, at least in the short term, on some important projects that the administration supports. … With a historic NATO summit just a month away, we should seize the opportunity to publicly demonstrate our commitment to one another,” Vershbow said. A US defense official, speaking on condition of anonymity with Reuters, later clarified that the projects Vershbow had referred to were the sale of pilotless drone aircraft to Turkey.

Also delivering speeches at the event on Monday, two leading diplomats from both sides gave rather positive messages as to the strength of the alliance between their countries though they sometimes differ on certain issues. While Philip Gordon, the US assistant secretary of state for Europe and Eurasian affairs, said Turkey and the US had a very close and active dialogue in foreign policy and also had common interests within NATO, Turkish Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu maintained that “the two countries can have different approaches on some issues but we should always remember that we have a common goal.” The same views were reiterated by Turkish Deputy Prime Minister Ali Babacan as well.

“Disagreements are embedded in the nature of all healthy relations. If there aren’t any, then it means that someone is being intimidated in that relationship. Therefore, we try to develop a healthy relationship with the US while always keeping in mind our common goals and values,” he said.

Turkish Foreign Trade Minister Zafer Çağlayan also took the floor at the event on Monday and touched upon Turkey’s adherence to UN sanctions against Iran, though it voted against them at the UN Security Council meeting in June. However, stressing that the sanctions should not overstep defined boundaries and hamper Turkey’s trade with Iran in the areas that are not subject to them, Çağlayan said Turkey’s share in Iran’s imports is very minimal. “Now I am asking: Iran had an import volume of $66 billion last year. Of this, Turkey’s share was only $2 billion. So, who made up the remaining $64 billion in exports to Iran? This needs to be discussed,” he said. In his speech, Çağlayan also touched upon “non-developing” economic relations with the US. “While the world economy is advancing, as are Turkey’s exports and foreign trade, we haven’t see even a tiny improvement in trade with the US,” he noted.

20 October 2010, Wednesday
TODAY’S ZAMAN WITH WIRES İSTANBUL

October 21, 2010