Turkey's President Erdogan says open to improved bid from China in missile defence tender

[Hindustani78]

By Reuters | 28 Jul, 2015, 02.36PM IST
Turkey's President Erdogan says open to improved bid from China in missile defence tender - The Economic Times

ISTANBUL: Turkey is open to an improved offer from its preferred bidder China in a long-range missile defence system tender, President Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday ahead of a visit to Beijing.

NATO member Turkey chose China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp in 2013 as the preferred candidate for the $3.4 billion deal, prompting US and Western concern about security and the compatibility of the weaponry with NATO systems.

The agreement with China then languished, and Turkey re-opened negotiations with US and European firms over its first-long-range missile defence system. Ankara said China had not met all requirements of the multi-billion-dollar deal.

"The most suitable bid came from China but certain developments led to delays. We will revisit these matters during this trip. If we receive a proposal that enriches the bid, we will view this positively," Erdogan said at a press conference in Ankara before ..

Turkey has given mixed messages on whether it will integrate the system with NATO infrastructure or not.

During the tender, US firm Raytheon put in an offer with its Patriot missile defence system. Franco-Italian group Eurosam, owned by the multinational European missile maker MBDA and France's Thales, came second in the tender.

Russia was eliminated in the first stage of the tender but is still keen on providing a surface-to-air missile system - a prospect that would also raise concerns in NATO.

 

[Pakistanisage]

Turkey is good in pitting these manufacturers against each other. Hopefully , they will get a good deal in the end. However, in the long term Turkey needs to move away from NATO and move towards self reliance.

 

[Sipahi]

Turkey is good in pitting these manufacturers against each other. Hopefully , they will get a good deal in the end. However, in the long term Turkey needs to move away from NATO and move towards self reliance.

only 2 countries are self reliant ... Russia or US.... China is not self reliant yet ... its a long way to go for turkey

 

[atatwolf]

Turkey is good in pitting these manufacturers against each other. Hopefully , they will get a good deal in the end. However, in the long term Turkey needs to move away from NATO and move towards self reliance.

Pakistan should too.

 

[Neptune]

ASELSAN promised an advanced long range SAM sistem up to Turkish/stanag standards would be ready in 2020 in response to European hesitation. Let's hope that the MoND will strike the deal and opt for the development of another national system.

 

[xenon54 out]

ASELSAN promised an advanced long range SAM sistem up to Turkish/stanag standards would be ready in 2020 in response to European hesitation. Let's hope that the MoND will strike the deal and opt for the development of another national system.

If thats true then i only have one explanation for this T-Loramids circus, its to prove that Turkey could always go for Chinese systems if necessary as done earlier with J-600T, otherwise i dont see the benefit of going for foreign system when Aselsan says we can make it in 5 years.