Scores of defense contracts, . big and smaIl, but altogether amounting to billions of doIlars and awarded to Israel
companies in the 1990s and early 2000s, were one . of the "lubricants" that kept a strategic partnership between Ankara and Tel Aviv up and running -- until Turkey's military and procurement authorities began to view Israeli sources with deep suspicion over contractual problems in 2003.

As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan decides to mend diplomatic fences with the United States, he has simultaneously moved to win hearts and minds in Israel, and as a result Turkey may rediscover its Israeli arms suppliers.The signs of "recovery" came shortly before Erdogan's state visit to Israel (and the Palestinian territories) last week when Ankara awarded a critical contract to a team comprising Israeli Aİrcraft Industries (IAI) and Elbit. The Israeli consortium won the longdelayed contract for the supply of three unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) systems to the Turkish military, a deal worth $183  million. IAI-Elbitwas . competing with U.S. General Atomics that protested that its proposal had been . "disregarded" due  to contractual problems.

During Erdogan's visit to Israel on May 1 and 2, Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul talked of more "goodies" for the Israelis,
inc1uding a contract for the upgrade of a follow-on batch of 48 Turkish F -4 fighter jets and another for Harpy drones.
These deals may go beyond the billion-dollar threshold, according to defense sources.A Turkish procurement official admitted to the existence of a more lenient" position in Ankara toward Israeli defense companies.

"There were problematic times, but apparent1y a political intention is emerging to leave behind the bad times and begin
again," he said.

But there is a paradoxical situation from the standpoint of Washington: A1though the . United States has invariably
encouraged defense cooperation between Ankara and Tel Aviv, U.S. defense companies are increasingly wary of more contracts going to Israeli contenders than to themselves.
 

A U.S. industry source in Washington said that the U.S. defense companies discontent  might soon be echoed in the U.S.administration. "We are tallring about a powerfullobby group that stood by Turkey in the good times as well as the pad," he said, adding, "Turkey "may lose this lobbying power, especially in. these times of chilled ties with the U.S.administration.
 

" Popeye missiles: Turkey initially bought 50 Popeye i missiles for its fleet of F-4s being upgraded by IAI. At least 40
Popeye i missiles were delivered to Turkey in 1997 and a second batch of 60 was shipped in 1998. In May 1997 Israel and Turkey agreed to joindy produce the Popeye II air-to-ground missile in a deal initially worth about $ 100 million dollars.
 

The new deal involved a consortium being established between two Turkish firms and Rafael to jointly produce the Popeye II, a  smailer missile with more advanced technology. The Popeye II, also known as the Have Lite, is designed for deployment on fighter aircraft and has a range of 150 kilometers. The Popeye II missiles were expected at the beginning of 2000. The overall Popeye i and Popeye Ilmissilesı program with Turkey was, valued at some $500 million.

Popeye is Rafael's primary standoff-capable missile and offers effective precisian attack capability against high-value land and maritime targets.Effective against bunkers, missile sites and other highvalue targets, Popeye uses multiple guidance modes, either imaging infrared or TV in the terminal mode, to provide precision attack and destruction of well protected targets. Popeyeis operationalan F-4, F- 15, B- 52 and F-111's.

Harpy drones: Turkey has recent1y received the IAI/MBT Harpy killer drone, following a procurement contract awarded (but not publicized) back in 1999. Turkey is current1y .i planning to increase the capabilities of some 100 Harpies now in service, with more rt flexible employment of "hunterlki1ler" drones, such as the Cutlass.Harpy was designed as a loitering attack UAV that is used for attacking and suppressing enemy radars, associated with
enemy air defense systems.Utilizing a "Pire-and-Porget" all-weather, day/night autonomous attack capabi1ity, Harpy is
launched from a ground vehic1e against targets that can be hundreds of kilometers away. Harpy is currently operational with the Turkish, Korean, Chinese and Indian armed forces, in addition to the Israel Aif Force. In December 2004 China was  reported to be interested in an upgrade of its systems to a more advanced version.,

From fighter upgrades to many happy refums: in early 2004, Israeli scholar Efraim Inbar said total Israeli arms sales to
Turkey had exceeded $1 billion since 2000. The lucrative cooperation dates back to December 1996 when Israel won a $676 million deal to upgrade Turkey's fleet of 54 F-4 Phantom fighter jets. In 1998, Turkeyawarded a $75 million contract to upgrade its fleet of 48 F-5 fighter jets to IAI's Lahav division, beating out strong French competition. In 2002, Turkey ratified its largest military deal with Israel, a $688 . million contract for the renovation of M60 main battle tanks.

Scores of smaller contracts have quietly gone to Israeli contractors since then, mostly in military electronics. Potential
deals with Israeli companies ' inelude standoff weapons with 250-kilometer range, low altitude night flight systems for F-16s  and F-4s and lantem pods for a batch of 18 RF-4 aircraft.

Last year the Turkish Air Forces (TUAF) finalized a priority list of requirements, ineluding the upgrade of a batch of 48 F-4 fighter jets. TUAF wants its F -4 aircraft upgraded in a joint program with IAI -although IAI will provide the technology and systems integration task, the work will be done at a TUAF repairs and maintenance unit in Eskisehir.
- The cost of the new upgrade work is estimated at around $8 - to 10 million per aircraft.

Although some procurement officials in Ankara said it was i "odd" to award the new upgrade contract as a sole-source
deal to " the IAI while Turkey's local , industry possessed the , capabilities to do the job, TU AF thinks it was normal
because "the new deal can be seen as a continuation of the previous one." TUAF also encourages a quick solution, citing its operational needs.

ii The trouble about tank upgrades: Although memories of a Turkish-Israeli snag over a contract for the procurement of , the EO/lR Long Range' Oblique Photography (LOROP) by Elbit are still fresh, "trouble" in defense ties largely refers to the M60 tank upgrade program.

In January Turkey suspended its $93 million payment to Israeli Military Industries (IMI), the upgrade contractor, because of the Israeli company's failure to deliver a prototype tank for the upgrade program. IMI had pledged to deliver the prototype last August.

But the major delay in the delivery of the prototype is not the only problem: The model fails to meet the technical
commitments specified under the contract, according to i Turkish officials. The armor and the firing control unit are still
problematic areas, and the survivabi1ity of the tanks has not been sufficient1y increased under the proposed upgrade i
program. Their maneuverability is also below the desired levels.

There are also concems about the engine power/weight ratio for the upgraded version.

The upgrade work will increase the tanks' weight to 59 tons from an original 56 tons, which military experts say should
require an engine power of at least 1,200 hp (horse power).


IMI, however, will install 1.000 hp engines that it plans to buy , from the German manufacturer : MTD.Despite hurdles in the first upgrade program, IMI is trying to win a follow-on order for a batch of 169 M60 tanks, a deal that may cost Turkey another $450 million.

Oplimism: According to ; Soner çağatay, director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute, in the 1990s Turkish-Israeli relations developed significantly as Syria's "war by proxy" toward Ankara aligned a joint Turkish and Israeli perception of a threat from Damascus. "The ensuing intelligence- focused cooperation solidified as Turkey acquired weapons from Israel to use against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and to modernize the Turkish military. European insistence that Turkey's actions against PKK terrorists constituted human rights violations and resulted in European embargos on arms sales to Turkey during that period. Combined with the occasional U.S. reluctance to transfer sensitiye weapons systems to Ankara, Israel became a significant source of hi-tech weapons for Turkey, which enhanced bilateral militaryties, he said.

çağatay is optimistic. "The defense aspect of the Turkish Israeli relationship remains as , strong as ever. The two countries continue to pursue close military cooperation including the Reliant Mermaid exercises," he said, adding, "Meanwhile, Israel remainsa prominent supplier of high-tech and sensitiye weapons systems to Turkey." ,