Air defense program continues to stumble into chaos - DEFENSE UPDATE
Aselsan option
Procurement officials familiar with the program said Eurosam’s solution had lost part of its allure after military electronics specialist Aselsan, Turkey’s biggest defense firm, emerged as an out-of-competition option. “Eurosam could deliver the system only a couple of years earlier than Aselsan which makes it more reasonable to go for a local solution in comparison with the European solution,” one official said.
Aselsan has been quietly working to assess an indigenous solution for what would become Turkey’s first long-range air and anti-missile defense system. Aselsan thinks it can deliver the T-LORAMIDS in about eight to 10 years.
In 2007, when Turkey decided to build low-, medium- and high-altitude air defense, it chose a partnership of Aselsan and Roketsan, a local missile maker, for the low- and medium-altitude systems, and award the long-altitude contract to a foreign manufacturer. Last October, Aselsan completed the test launch of its first domestically developed and manufactured low altitude air defense missiles, Hisar-A, and set off to work on Hisar-O, the medium-altitude system.
Aselsan, the prime contractor, is developing all radar, fire control, command and control and communication systems for the program while Roketsan is acting as the executive sub-contractor. Ideally, the HİSAR-A system, which will provide protection against all kinds of airborne targets thanks to its vertical launch capability, will enter the Turkish military inventory in 2017.
When combined and made interoperable, Hisar-A and Hisar-O will destroy threats at low-medium altitude. The program involves the development and production of two types of ground systems, self-propelled armored and wheeled vehicle mounted air defense missile systems, and the missile.
Hisar-A is an air defense missile system mounted on a self-propelled armored vehicle and can be fully autonomous by means of 3D radar, Electro-Optic system, command control and fire control.
Hisar-O is composed of one battalion headquarters and headquarters company and three batteries, each of which has a sufficient amount of launchers, missiles, radars, command-control and communication systems and other support equipment.
But procurement officials now privately think that both Hisar-A and Hisar-O could face major delays due to problems, particularly with the guidance system they would operate. “We are worried that if Aselsan finds it problematic to construct a system covering a 10-to-15-kilometer range on time, could it really deliver a much more complex and long-range system on time?” said the official. “We are not sure if Aselsan would be the best option other than for its ‘local-ness.’”
June/10/2014