stanbul, 5 May (AKI) – Turkey is expected to sign a new contract for purchasing armed drones (unmanned spy planes) from Israel. Defence officials of both sides reached the agreement during Turkish Premier Tayyip Erdogan’s visit to Israel and Palestine last week, according to Turkish media reports. Ankara’s Defence Minister, Vecdi Gonul, who accompanied Erdogan in Israel, extended his visit by two days to iron out the details of the agreement.
Gonul also held talks with Israeli military officials on joint projects, including co-production of ‘Arrow II’ and ‘Popeye II’ missiles. In terms of the agreement, Turkey is set to purchase 48 armed unmanned planes called HARPY-2 (HAROP) from the Israel Aircraft Industries (IAI). The deal is estimated to be worth 80 million dollars.
HARPY-2 planes, each weighing 135 kilograms, can fly up to 6 hours, reach a top speed of 185 km/h and can be guided with a remote control system to a distance of up to 150 kilometres. Turkish officials say HARPY-2s could be used to destroy some ground-to-air missile systems of militant groups such as the separatist PKK (Kurdish Workers Party) based in Northern Iraq.
Earlier in April, before Erdogan’s visit, Ankara had also signed a 183-million dollars deal with Elbit, one of the leading Israeli defence firms, on April 18 to buy 10 “unarmed” drones.
The latest deals further boost existing strong ties linking the two countries’ defence industries. Israeli defence firms are currently involved in upgrading 54 Turkish F-4 fighter planes, 48 F-5 fighter planes and 170 M-60 tanks under a deal estimated at 880 million dollars.
Despite Erdogan’s vocal endorsement for the rights of Palestinians, including his definition of Israel’s policiy in the occupied territories as “state terrorism,” the Turkish premier has drawn sharp criticism from many Arab countries for the defence partnership between Israel and Turkey.
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May 6, 2005 at 8:42 pm