Monday, March 7, 2005

Exclusive defense industry analysis by TDN Defense Desk
Ankara, Washington to ink $600 million government-to-government deal by March 31

ANKARA - Exclusive by TDN Defense Desk

 

  Despite increased tensions between Ankara and Washington over climbing anti-Americanism in Turkey, the NATO allies will soon pen a major government-to-government defense contract worth near $600 million.

  Under the contract, Lockheed Martin, the world's largest defense firm, will upgrade an initial batch of 80 Turkish F-16 fighter jets. A second batch of 100 aircraft will follow.

  Turkey and the United States aim to ink the deal by March 31 when a U.S. proposal for the upgrade program expires.

  “We are successfully inching towards finalizing this contract,” a senior Turkish defense official said. “Talks have matured regardless of recent political snags.”

  The planned F-16 upgrade capabilities will include electronic warfare systems, advanced radar, integration of the modular mission computer, night vision goggles and various missile systems. Also included are systems integration and testing, software development, test sets and support equipment, spare and repair parts, maintenance and personnel training. Five additional weapon systems are also included: Infra-red improved SIDEWINDER-TVC (Germany), PENGUIN (Norway), PYTHON-5 (Israel), DERBY (Israel) and SPICE (Israel).

  The deal will have an option for the upgrade of a follow-on batch of 100 fighters, and the U.S. follow-on proposal will be valid until Dec. 31, 2006.

  The F-16 upgrade program is a priority for the operational needs of the Air Force. “We must go ahead with the upgrades at once,” a senior military official said. “There is urgent need to boost the operational capabilities of our (fighter) fleet.”

  The upgrade program aims to raise the technical capabilities of Turkish fighters to the most advanced available level. The chosen upgrade package will earn the Turkish fighters CCIP (Common Configuration Improvement Program) standard.

  A Lockheed Martin official confirmed that the company was working with Ankara and Washington to define a systems upgrade program for Turkey's fleet of F-16s. Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, a subsidiary of the Lockheed Martin, designs and produces the F-16 Flying Falcon.

  Last October, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress of the planned sale to Turkey of the F-16 modernization package as well as associated equipment and services. The package, covering an eventual fleet of 218 aircraft, would cost Turkey $3.9 billion if all options are exercised. Congress formally approved the package on Oct. 23.

  The government-to-government deal is planned to be financed through Foreign Military Sale loans, a U.S. credit form designed to support sales of U.S. military equipment to allied and friendly countries.

  The principal contractors for the planned upgrade work will be BAE Advanced Systems, Boeing Integrated Defense Systems, Harris Corporation Government Communications Systems Division, Lockheed Martin Aeronautics Company, Lockheed Martin Missiles and Fire Control, Northrop Grumman Electro-Optical Systems, Northrop Grumman Electronic Systems, and Raytheon Missile Systems.

  Washington rules out “any regional political problems because of the proposed sale.” The Pentagon has said that the F-16 upgrade package will contribute to the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by improving the military capabilities of Turkey and further weapon system standardization and interoperability with U.S. forces.

  It also said the sale will not adversely affect either the military balance in the region or U.S. efforts to encourage a negotiated settlement of the Cyprus question.  The list of items in the Turkish F-16 upgrade package: n   180 AN?APG-68(V)9 radars

  n   7 full mission trainers for upgrade/replacement

  n   200 Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing Systems

  n   200 AN?AVS-9 Night Vision Goggles

  n   4 AGM-84H Joint Standoff Land Attack Missile-Expanded Response

  n   4 AGM-84 HARPOON Missiles

  n   6 AIM-120C Advanced Medium Range Air-to-Air Missiles

  n   4 drones

  n   1 AGM-154B Joint Standoff Weapon

  n   1 AGM-154A Joint Standoff Weapon

  n   2 AIM-9X SIDEWINDER Missiles

  n   2 CBU-103 Cluster bomb units

  n   2 CBU-105 sensor fused weapons

  n   1 AGM-88B High-Speed Anti-Radiation Missiles

  n   2 AN/ASQ-213 HARM targeting systems