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IDEF-2019 l Updates, News & Discussion

within 3 years this thing will be operational...:-)
:)
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View attachment 395424 Someone on the photo/video thread mentioned that the turret behind the Korhan looks like a railgun. I think this could be the case.

There are three reasons why I think this is most certainly a railgun
1) Aselsan has made one and this one seems to be in the Aselsan section
2) The turret's outer barrel is square shaped (to house magnets)
3) There is no appendage coming out of the end, which signifies that it's not a fast firing CIWS

By the way the Korhan looks amazing :)

is that a 40mm or a 30mm gun?
 
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Turkey unveiling defense industry innovations it hopes will boost exports

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One of Turkish company Roketsan's products is seen in an undated promotional image. (photo by Facebook/roketsangururumuz)

Attendees of the biennial International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) can expect to see many brand-new products, including a record number of items made by Turkish companies targeting foreign buyers. The fair, held by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation and designed for the defense, security, maritime, and air and space industries, will take place in Istanbul on May 9-12. Turkey is the only NATO member to hold a defense industry exhibit in the Middle East.


Defense expert Hakan Kilic told Al-Monitor that in previous years, IDEF events displayed either items co-produced by Turkish companies or products of foreign companies targeting the Turkish market. This year, however, a record number of products made by the Turkish defense industry will be on display.

“For me, the most important development of the fair this year will be that the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] is no longer the sole potential customer at a fair where 600 companies from 50 countries will be exhibiting,” he said.

The most anticipated projects at this year’s fair will be the KAAN missile system produced by TSK-affiliated Roketsan AS and the TRG-300 (Tiger) Kaplan missiles, which will be shown for the first time. Another system making its debut is the Bora (Turkish for Storm) long-range missile that Turkey is developing by transferring the technology of China's B 61-11-M model. Bora will be Turkey's first missile that can reach beyond 300 kilometers (186 miles).

Simulators developed to train pilots of Atak assault helicopters will also be shown for the first time. Another initial showing will be a 155 mm (6-inch) high-mobility artillery, to be mounted on 6x6 trucks, being developed by Turkey’s state-owned Mechanical and Chemistry Industry Corporation.

Also bound to attract attention will be the prototype Hurkus-C turboprop-powered plane, made to provide close air support in low-intensity combat, and the UMTAS air-to-surface anti-tank guided missiles this plane will be armed with.

The electromagnetic railgun Sapan (Turkish for Sling) will be another product attracting inquiries. This system is expected to open a new era in air and missile defense technology. Turkey has already produced a prototype and wants to advance in this field to become the fifth state — after the United States, the United Kingdom, China and Russia — to have the technology.

Another project making its initial appearance will be the national combat plane (TFX) project and Goktug, the Turkish version of the US-made Sidewinder-9 guided missiles.

This year’s IDEF is expected to emphasize solutions to issues encountered during Turkey's Operation Euphrates Shield and internal security operations. Focal points will include many aerial platforms such as the TFX, the national project to develop helicopters and a variety of drone projects.

Turkey is truly interested in developing its defense and aerospace industries. In 2008, its defense exports were only $600 million. In 2016, exports stood at $1.68 billion. But Turkey's defense industry has slowed down during the past three years. For example, in 2016, exports rose only by 1.5% over 2015. For Turkey to achieve its goal of $25 billion in defense industry-related exports by 2023, the sector has to grow by a factor of 15. That doesn’t seem very feasible, as Turkey will first have to cope with important structural questions about the defense, aerospace and space industry sectors.

Defense industry expert Arda Mevlutoglu told Al-Monitor that Turkey is now at a juncture. “The Turkish defense industry registered extremely rapid growth over the last 10 years. Many projects were on the table. But we have now reached the point of transition from prototypes to production. It will have to deal with issues such as assembly-line production and after-sales support. Can we manage sustained production of those prototypes? It won’t be easy. Only if a healthy industrial policy is followed can we perhaps preserve the gains made until now,” he said.

Above all, the sector has a serious productivity issue. Production schedules and budgets are not followed, he noted. Resources aren't used properly or effectively. State support to strengthen the sector is essential, but it must come in a form that encourages competition. Turkey hasn't reached that competitive environment yet, and companies that aren't challenged by competitors can become complacent, lose productivity and forget about innovation.

Another structural problem is the lack of qualified manpower and intellectual capital. According to Mevlutoglu, today there are about 35,000 people in Turkey's defense, aerospace and space industries, but only about 3,000 are engineers and white-collar workers who can be classified as qualified personnel. For Turkey to reach its defense industry exports goal of $25 billion, qualified manpower has to rise fourfold to 12,000. Decision-makers in Ankara don’t have a roadmap or the vision to achieve this personnel goal. Unless they can overcome this serious deficiency, projects they promote will not go much beyond prototypes or very limited production.

Turkey’s defense and aerospace industries increasingly resemble its booming construction sector. Overblown, embellished success reports encourage many companies to enter the fields. But nobody tells them about the failures. There are reports of orders that can’t be filled, deadlines that aren't met and massive failures during testing. Nevertheless, the slogan of the sector is still, “Whatever the TSK wants, we will produce,” which is hardly an innovative approach.

As research and development costs are very high, defense contractors naturally ask the TSK, police and other end-users what they want most and can afford, hence the industry's dearth of innovative solutions. Turkish companies complain the Defense Industry Undersecretariat and the Defense Ministry treat Turkish companies the same as far-more-advanced foreign companies and do not offer price and tender conditions that would help Turkish companies compete.

Given the dominance of local giants as Aselsan, Roketsan and Havelsan and the extreme pressures exerted by foreign companies, it is practically impossible for small- and medium-sized Turkish companies in software writing, electronics and optical systems to stand alone, go after tenders and perhaps set off on the road to becoming global brands.

And finally, like everything else in Turkey, increasing politicization of the sector is also becoming a major structural impediment to its growth.



Read more: http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/ori...g-defense-industry-exports.html#ixzz4gWHelcqP
 
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Let's hope that someone up there reads the second part of the article above and takes some action to change things needed for our defense sector to grow even more... First thing Turkey should do is to improve it's educational system: a system which should create more and better specialist than it does right now. It's a shame that a country of 80 million people has only 3000 qualified engineers working in it's defense sector. I guess the number of engineers working in other high tech sectors are also not pretty big... we will achieve nothing if those number don't improve drastically. Why don't we learn from other countries which invest much more in education, science, technology and R&D... A country like South Korea was destroyed by war and hunger and was less developed than most countries in Africa 60 years ago, between 60 and 80% of it's population was illiterate and see where they are right now. Global brands like Samsung, LG, Hyundai, Kia and many more are world leaders in many industries and South Korea is world 5th largest exporter. All that with no resources and with only around 50 million people who are studying hard and working even harder.

Turkey needs to set realistic goals and make a well structured plan how to achieve them. Step by step everything can be done if the will for it is really there...
Unfortunately you can't just say "we will export weapons worth 25 billion a year and our economy will be in top 10 in 2023", then pray to Allah for it to happen. You can't promote religious education instead of improving your secular education where maths, physics, chemistry, computer technologies and foreign languages are being studied and expect your country to be a world leader in anything else but apricot, hazelnut and tomato production. I guess it's much easier to keep your electoral base conservative towards almost everything progressive, ignorant and uneducated instead of educating them and creating a better foundation for them to prosper then blame others for their misery.
 
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