Sunday, 20 September 2009
* By Lale KEMAL
The US announcement last Thursday that it was scrapping a Bush-era missile defense system planned to be deployed in the Czech Republic and Poland and instead launching a new missile plan has shifted focus to Turkey in the midst of speculation that Ankara will buy Patriot missiles from the US.
US President Barack Obama's move to scrap former President George W. Bush's plan that has long been one of the main focuses of dispute with Russia has also raised question marks over whether Washington and Moscow have struck a secret deal that involves basing missiles on Turkish soil neighboring Iran instead of in Russia's close vicinity, i.e., the Czech Republic and Poland.
While shelving the Bush plan, Obama said last Thursday that the US will launch a new program in 2011 that will focus on sea and land-based missile interceptors. The system is also set to include a range of sensors in Europe to defend against ballistic missile threats from the Middle East.
The move came about because of a change in the US perception of the threat posed by Iran.
The Washington Times reported on Sept. 18 that the announcement that the Obama administration was canceling missile defense deployments in Europe could be part of a trade that includes sending other missiles to Turkey.
The decision to scrap the deployments in Poland and the Czech Republic also came days after the administration announced the proposed sale of $7.8 billion in Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) antimissile batteries and related equipment to Turkey.
Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutođlu has denied media reports that Turkey is buying missile interceptors against a threat posed by Iran.
Former President Bush's administration suggested that Turkey deploy some of the missiles on its soil in addition to the Czech Republic and Poland, but the idea was turned down by Ankara at the time.
Turkey has long been sensitive over the deployment of US missile systems on its soil and instead opted to come under the missile shield umbrella of NATO, of which it is a member.
“Turkey will only agree to a missile shield program within NATO, but not the US. In addition, there is no way Turkey will agree to a US missile shield project that will target Iran and Russia, countries with which it has been developing good relations,” a Western diplomat said.
The same diplomat noted that Turkey had wanted Patriot missiles based on its soil during the first Gulf War in 1991 to be removed following the end of the NATO-led offensive against Iraq. This was to stress the Turkish sensitivity over bilateral missile arrangements with any country.
Due to the same sensitivity, Turkey refused to be part of a then-planned tri-party missile shield mechanism with the US and Israel in the early 2000s, recalled a Turkish diplomat speaking to Sunday's Zaman.
Confusing information on cost of Turkish missiles
In the midst of Obama's decision to shelve the Bush-era plan and to launch a new missile system came a Pentagon announcement that Congress was notified of the potential sale of PAC-3 antimissile batteries and related equipment. It would cover 13 Patriot “fire units,” 72 PAC-3 missiles and a range of associated hardware for ground-based air defense, the Pentagon's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) stated.
Turkey would use the PAC-3 guided missiles to boost its missile defense capability, strengthen its homeland defense and deter regional threats, the DSCA said.
However, the Turkish Defense Ministry clarified in a statement on Sept. 14 that it was interested in securing Raytheon and Lockheed Martin's participation in its international tender for the acquisition of long-range air and missile-defense systems (T-LORAMIDS). That meant that there is no guarantee Patriot missiles would be purchased; a selection will be made as a result of a tender in which Russia and China are also participating.
The $7.8 billon figure submitted to the US Congress is not a final figure. The final figure is to be reached through negotiations and depends on Turkey's final requirements if the US companies win the tender.
Turkey's military, meanwhile, said last Friday that it plans to spend $1 billion on four long-range missile defense systems.
However, in reality, the Turkish request for proposal (RfP) issued to competing companies involves the acquisition of 12 firing units at a cost of $4.5 billion. The Turkish military's statement, made last Friday, intended to alleviate the concerns of the Turkish public, which has been questioning the rationale behind buying costly missile systems.
The tender process for the Turkish missile project began in April, when an RfP was sent to the China National Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC), Russia's Rosoboronexport and US Raytheon and Lockheed Martin.
Lockheed Martin and Raytheon have jointly offered a combination of PAC-3 and PAC-2 low- to high-altitude surface-to-air missiles (SAMs). The Turkish Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) separately sent a letter of request (LoR) on April 8 to the US administration, as any potential purchase from the US will take place under the Foreign Military Sales (FMS) program.
CPMIEC has offered the HQ-9 air-defense system, with the reported export designation of FD-2000.
