(Source: Turkish Daily News; issued Sept. 27, 2005)
ANKARA, Turkey — Turkey’s ambitious but disappointingly belated program for the procurement of an initial batch of 30 attack helicopters is facing fresh delays as the Ankara government has postponed a critical bidding deadline from an original Sept. 13 to Nov. 8.
Procurement officials familiar with the program said that some of the contenders had asked for an extension of the deadline, and the Undersecretariat for Defense Industry (SSM) has agreed to the request. “Actually, the extension has given us relief,” the official said. “We hope we’ll sort out a few disputed clauses in the contract specifications before the new deadline.”
Meanwhile, the U.S. government has launched efforts to convince Turkey’s procurement authorities on new revisions in a key dispute over contractual terms and conditions as part of the competition.
U.S. officials held meetings with their Turkish counterparts last week in efforts to soften a clause that requires all bidders to produce a preliminary government authorization. U.S. export laws and regulations do not allow for blanket sales permission in advance for a fresh deal. Only after a contract is signed and the defense and state departments agree to it, the Pentagon seeks final congressional approval.
A Turkish official said that the SSM might agree to a governmental pledge not guaranteeing the supply of the desired systems but pledging full governmental efforts for the deliveries. “I guess we are close to a deal on that dispute,” the official said. “We are waiting for Washington to send us a draft text, and we’ll see if we can consider it as a preliminary authorization for the sale. I am optimistic for a solution.”
Originally launched in the mid-1990s, the project was effectively back to square one earlier this year after a lengthy negotiation process with a U.S. manufacturer to jointly produce the platforms failed in 2004 and the SSM opened a fresh international competition
Turkey is concerned that its limited number of helicopter gunships — the Army now has seven AH-1W Super Cobras and about 20 earlier Cobra versions — may fail to meet the military’s operational requirements as the terrorist PKK resumed its attacks in May.
The new program is already facing delays and a likely exclusion of U.S. manufacturers from the competition. The SSM issued a request for proposal (RfP) for the program for up to 50 platforms in February only to be confronted by major objections from the world’s leading attack helicopter producers that the terms and conditions for the program “fall out of global practices and make participation almost impossible.” In view of bidders’ opposition, Turkey’s defense procurement agency “softened” the RfP in May and redirected it to potential contenders
But the changes have failed to impress U.S. manufacturers. Initially, three U.S. firms — Boeing, maker of the AH-64D Apache Longbow; Bell Helicopter Textron, maker of the AH-1Z; and Sikorsky Aircraft Corp., maker of the armed version of the S-70 Black Hawk utility helicopter — showed interest in the program, acquiring the RfP
Shortly after Bell said it was quitting. the SSM’s move to revise the RfP failed to persuade Bell, which reiterated in May that it would continue to stay out of the Turkish competition. But a Bell official said this week that the company might return to the competition. Industry sources say the move may be in line with the looming U.S.-Turkish compromise on the license snag.
On Sikorsky’s part, Turkish procurement officials say the armed S-70 simply fails to meet the Army’s requirements, since that helicopter is not a real gunship but a utility platform with weapons attached to it. So no matter how Sikorsky decides, there is not much interest in its product, although this U.S. company has been successful in marketing its other military products in Turkey since the early 1990s. For example, Turkey and Sikorsky are presently seeking to conclude a $385 million program for the sale to the Turkish Navy of 12 S-70B Seahawk naval helicopters.
Bell was the main loser in Turkey’s decision last year to cancel contract talks in the now-defunct program to jointly produce 50 AH-1Zs, the U.S. Marines’ attack helicopter. Turkey originally selected Bell for the program in 2000, but four years of contract negotiations failed because of major price differences and licensing problems.
If Bell does not return to the contest, the only remaining viable U.S. option is Boeing, whose Apache is the U.S. Army’s attack helicopter.
An effective exclusion of U.S. companies from the Turkish bidding could be good news for non-American contenders, including Europe’s Eurocopter, maker of the Tiger; Italy’s Agusta, maker of the A-129 Mangusta; Russia’s Moscow Helicopter Plant, maker of the Mi-28 Havoc; and South Africa’s Denel, maker of the Rooivalk.
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September 28, 2005 at 5:06 pm