DEFENSE UNDERSECRETARY BAYAR SEES NO PROBLEM IN TURKISH-ISRAELI RELATIONS

Today’s Zaman
Feb 24 2009
Turkey

Turkey’s undersecretary for the defense industry, Murad Bayar, has
said that there is no problem in Turkish-Israeli cooperation in the
defense area.

"Turkey and Israel have mutual interests [in defense cooperation],
and projects are being conducted in this framework," he told reporters
visiting Abu Dhabi, the United Arab Emirates, in connection with the
International Defence Exhibition & Conference (IDEX) 2009. Bayar stated
that no problems should be expected in this respect. "As these are
long-term projects. We cannot modify projects in their final phase. Any
change will take time," he said, adding that Turkish-Israeli interests
are mutual. According to 2007 figures, arms procurement deals between
Turkey and Israel have reached about $2 billion. This amount, which
has been in favor of Israel, should now be over $2 billion, bearing
in mind that some projects, though few, have been signed with Israel
since then.

Despite earlier Turkish uneasiness over Israel’s failure to deliver
military technology, Israel continues to be the major country that
does not deny military technology to Turkey in areas where Ankara is
seriously lacking.

"No change is planned in ongoing projects. As for future projects, our
stance will be to consider Turkey’s interests. In the final analysis,
the decisions on all projects are made by the Defense Industry
Implementation Committee [SSÄ°K]. The SSÄ°K is presided over by the
prime minister. The chief of general staff and the defense minister
attend its meetings. This committee is capable of shaping the country’s
policy. In the decision making phase of projects, we act according to
its guidance. Nevertheless, my observation is that all of our projects
are implemented according to the country’s interests," he said.

Turkey and Israel signed military cooperation and defense industry
agreements in 1996.

Bayar also commented on the impact of the global economic crisis on
the defense sector.

"The sector is currently unaffected as resources are predefined
and projects are long-term projects," he said. Pointing out that
short-term changes in the sector are generally not possible for the
sector, Bayar noted that the crisis had some benefits for the sector by
causing a drop in many hidden costs. Yet, he said, companies dealing
with raw materials as well as other companies affiliated with the
defense industry may be affected by the crisis.

"In these sectors, for example, in the automotive sector, there are
some private companies that produce vehicles both for the military
and for the private sector. These companies are likely to be hit by
the crisis. The defense industry’s affiliated sectors, too, may be
affected, but I do not expect problems for the main contractors. I
guess all of them saw increases in their turnovers in 2008, and this
is likely to also continue in 2009," he said.

Major military projects between Turkey and Israel Under a deal
signed on Dec. 25, 2008, the Turkish Air Force Command (THKK) will
upgrade 12 of its McDonnell Douglas RF-4E photographic reconnaissance
aircraft with imagery intelligence (IMINT) systems. Elta Systems and
Elbit Systems Electro-Optics-Elop, subsidiaries of Israel Aerospace
Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems, respectively, will supply IMINT
systems over a four-year period. Turkey’s Aselsan will act as the
systems integrator. The upgrade is intended to provide the THKK
with a real-time intelligence-gathering capability. It is understood
that there are plans to integrate the same IMINT systems onto F-16
aircraft should they prove successful with the RF-4Es. The Turkish
Armed Forces’ (TSK) RF-4E aircraft are operated by its 113 Squadron
based at Eskisehir. The cost of the project is around $165 million,
including the $24 million share of Turkey’s Aselsan, which will be
the main contractor on the project.

Israel’s IMI has already started the delivery of the 170 US-made M60
A1 tanks from Turkey’s inventory that Israel modernized at a cost of
around $1 billion under an agreement signed between Israel and Turkey
that became effective in November 2002.

Israel delivered two of 10 long-delayed unmanned aerial vehicles
(UAVs) to Turkey on Nov. 29. Two of the Heron UAV systems arrived in
Turkey while the delivery of the remaining eight systems it still
awaited. However, the Aselsan-developed electro optical payload
(Aselfir300T) prevents the Heron UAVs from reaching a desired altitude
of 30,000 feet due to its high weight of 120 kilograms. There are
now reports that Turkey may abandon plans to install the Aselfir300T
systems on the Israeli Herons to quicken their delivery to the
TSK. Turkey signed a $183 million contract with Israel’s IUP consortium
(then Israeli Aircraft Industries and Elbit Systems) in 2005 for the
delivery of the 10 Heron UAVs. But the delivery of the Herons faced
an almost two year delay due to problems that have occurred over
Aselsan systems. As a stop-gap measure, the Undersecretariat for
the Defense Industry (SSM) purchased three Israeli Aeronautics-made
tactical Aerostar UAVs, and an Israeli Aerospace Industries Searcher
tactical UAV was also bought to replace a Heron UAV that crashed in
July of last year on a mission in the Southeast.

A $118 million contract was signed with Israel in July 2002 for the
co-production of counter measure dispenser systems (CMDS) currently
being equipped on an unspecified number of Turkish helicopter platforms
in the inventory of the TSK. When Israel failed to obtain critical
SA-7A and SA-7B surface-to-air missile technology from Russia so
that Turkey would be able to domestically develop similar types of
missiles, Ankara purchased reverse engineering training technology from
Belarus’s Biltek company. CMDS have been part of Turkey’s Helicopter
Electronic Warfare Suite (HEWS) project in order to fulfill the TSK’s
self protection requirements amid threatening environments as well
to increase its capabilities in the field of helicopter electronic
warfare. The HEWS project was launched in 1997 when outlawed Kurdistan
Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists shot down a Turkish Super Cobra in May
1997 and a Cougar helicopter in June 1997 using Russian SA-7 "Grail"
surface-to-air missiles provided by Iran and supplied through Armenia
in which 13 personnel were killed. In another incident in November
1998, 16 Turkish personnel were killed when their Sikorsky S-70A
Black Hawk utility helicopter was shot down by the PKK.

Israel’s IAI completed in 2002 and 2003 the modernization of 54
Turkish F-4Es bringing them to Phantom 2000 standard in a project
code named F-4E/2020. The 54 F-4Es are equipped with AGM-142 Popeye
medium-range air-to-surface missiles. The upgrade of the 54 F-4Es in
an agreement that was signed in January 1997 was financed through an
Israeli state credit amounting to over $700 million.

An Israeli and a Singapore consortium modernized 48 F-5A/B and NF-5A/B
fighters as lead-in trainers for Turkish F-16s. The first four aircraft
were modernized at EskiÅ~_ehir 1st Air Support and Maintenance Center
Command under Israel’s IAI’s responsibility while the remaining 44
aircraft was upgraded by the Turkish personnel in cooperation with
Israel. The project is valued at about $130 million. The modernization
involved avionics and structural changes to the F-5s under an agreement
signed on Sept. 24, 1998 between the SSM and a consortium comprising
IAI, Elbit and Singapore Aerospace. The project went into effect in
1999. IAI has been in charge of system integration, Elbit in software
and Singapore Aerospace has been responsible for mechanical harness
and routing installations. The project is code named F-5/2000.