Surenas
SENIOR MEMBER
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- Jan 28, 2012
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NATO member Turkey's selection of Chinese missiles in late September to meet its long-standing requirement of long-range air and missile defense systems over rival US and European bidders continues to be a point of tension with the alliance, which raised its objection to the Turkish choice on the grounds that these systems would neither be compatible nor interoperable with that of the alliance air defense network, hence causing weakness in Turkish security
as well.
It is, however, not only NATO in general and the US in particular who have voiced their unease over Turkey opting for Chinese missiles but also the Turkish military, which is allegedly very unhappy that it might finally acquire “second-hand, not battle-tested and cheap Chinese missiles,” as opposed to US-made Patriot missile systems. After all, this is the Turkish military, which has highly advanced jet fighters such as US F-16s in its inventory, while its country is a partner to the US-led Joint Strike Fighter (F-35) new generation aircraft, of which it plans to buy 100.
The Turkish military is reportedly also mad at the US because its companies were not encouraged to offer more high-technology transfers to Turkey to undercut other bidders, i.e., China and an Italian-French consortium, whose missiles are not battle-tested either.
According to sources knowledgeable about the meeting of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Turkish Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) held on Sept. 26, during which Turkey announced, to the surprise of many, its decision to start contract talks with China's Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC) for the co-production of surface-to-air missile defense systems, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel did not make any comments at all over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's choice of Chinese missiles.
Turkey announced on Sept. 26 that it would start contact negotiations with China's CPMIEC for the local production of its FD-2000 missile defense system over rival systems from French-Italian Eurosam SAMP/T and US Lockheed Martin-Raytheon's Patriot systems.
However, Turkey later disclosed that should contract talks with CPMIEC fail, it would go ahead with talks with Eurosam, the runner-up in the tender, and then with US companies, the third choice in the bid, if talks with the Europeans do not yield results.
Erdoğan recently broke his silence on the Turkish choice of Chinese missiles, citing CPMIEC's offer for high-technology transfer that will boost the Turkish capacity to develop highly sophisticated missile systems as well as its price of about $3.4 billion. Hence, Erdoğan said, China offered the most competitive terms and would allow co-production in Turkey.
Despite the fact that Gen. Özel stood indifferent to Erdoğan's decision to opt for Chinese missiles, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) are reportedly very unhappy with the fact that Turkey may acquire Chinese missiles.
Reliable military sources told Today's Zaman that the Turkish generals meeting with visiting US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Jim Miller last week had in fact made known their unease over the Turkish selection of Chinese missiles and had reportedly voiced their anger with the US over what they termed its failure to come up with a high-technology transfer offer.
In addition to NATO's reaction to Turkey for its choice of Chinese missiles, US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone said last month that Washington was very concerned about the prospect of a deal with a company from China, which his country has imposed sanctions on for selling arms and missile technology to Iran and Syria.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330...-unhappy-with-chinese-missiles-mad-at-us.html
as well.It is, however, not only NATO in general and the US in particular who have voiced their unease over Turkey opting for Chinese missiles but also the Turkish military, which is allegedly very unhappy that it might finally acquire “second-hand, not battle-tested and cheap Chinese missiles,” as opposed to US-made Patriot missile systems. After all, this is the Turkish military, which has highly advanced jet fighters such as US F-16s in its inventory, while its country is a partner to the US-led Joint Strike Fighter
(F-35) new generation aircraft, of which it plans to buy 100.The Turkish military is reportedly also mad at the US because its companies were not encouraged to offer
more high-technology transfers to Turkey to undercut other bidders, i.e., China and an Italian-French consortium, whose missiles are not battle-tested either.According to sources knowledgeable about the meeting of the Executive Committee (EC) of the Turkish Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) held on Sept. 26, during which Turkey announced, to the surprise of many, its decision to start
contract talks with China's Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC) for the co-production of surface-to-air missile defense systems, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel did not make any comments at all over Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's choice of Chinese missiles.Turkey announced on Sept. 26 that it would start
contact negotiations with China's CPMIEC for the local production of its FD-2000 missile defense system over rival systems from French-Italian Eurosam SAMP/T and US Lockheed Martin-Raytheon's Patriot systems.However, Turkey later disclosed that should contract talks with CPMIEC fail, it would go ahead with talks with Eurosam, the runner-up in the tender, and then with US companies, the third choice in the bid, if talks with the Europeans do not yield results.
Erdoğan recently broke his silence on the Turkish choice of Chinese missiles, citing CPMIEC's offer
for high-technology transfer that will boost the Turkish capacity to develop highly sophisticated missile systems as well as its price of about $3.4 billion. Hence, Erdoğan said, China offered the most competitive terms and would allow co-production in Turkey.Despite the fact that Gen. Özel stood indifferent to Erdoğan's decision to opt for Chinese missiles, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) are reportedly very unhappy with the fact that Turkey may acquire Chinese missiles.
Reliable military sources told Today's Zaman that the Turkish generals meeting with visiting US Undersecretary of Defense for Policy Jim Miller last week had in fact made known their unease over the Turkish selection of Chinese missiles and had reportedly voiced their anger with the US over what they termed its failure to come up with a high-technology transfer offer.
In addition to NATO's reaction to Turkey for its choice of Chinese missiles, US Ambassador to Turkey Francis Ricciardone said last month that Washington was very concerned about the prospect of a deal with a company from China, which his country has imposed sanctions on for selling arms and missile technology to Iran and Syria.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-330...-unhappy-with-chinese-missiles-mad-at-us.html
.... the chinese horde will be really mad now.....just a few days ago they went overboard by this selection by Turkish Forces... So after all it was not the technology what was the criterion for the selection.. just pure politics only..
the Yankees were humiliated that their weapon system got burnt by our weapons system, now they want to save face and say it was 'political' decision.
