REFILE-UPDATE 2-Chinese firm under U.S. sanctions wins Turkey missile defence system tender
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/27/turkey-china-defence-idUSL5N0HM42J20130927
Fri Sep 27, 2013 5:37am EDT
(Reuters) - NATO member Turkey has chosen a Chinese defence firm that has been hit by U.S. sanctions to co-produce a $4 billion long-range air and missile defence system, rejecting rival bids from Russian, U.S. and European firms.
The Turkish defence minister announced the decision to award the contract to China Precision Machinery Import and Export Corp (CPMIEC) in a statement on Thursday.
In February, the United States announced sanctions on CPMIEC for violations of the Iran, North Korea and Syria Nonproliferation Act.
It did not say precisely what CPMIEC had done, but Washington has penalised the company before. In 2003, Washington said it was extending sanctions on the firm for arms sales to Iran. It was unclear when those measures were first imposed.
Officials at state-run CPMIEC, the marketing arm of China's missile manufacturing industry, could not immediately be reached for comment.
Turkey, which has the second-largest deployable military force in the NATO alliance, has no long-range missile defence system of its own, but NATO has deployed the U.S.-built Patriot air and missile defence system there since 2012.
The winning Chinese FD-2000 system beat the Patriot, the Russian S-400 and the French-Italian Eurosam Samp-T.
Raytheon Co, which builds the Patriot missile system, said it had been informed about the Turkish decision and hoped to get a briefing soon. It said there were 200 Patriot units deployed in 12 countries, including Turkey.
"NATO has long supported the system, deploying Patriots in five aligned countries and, in 2012, providing a requested Patriot deployment to Turkey. Given this strong performance, we hope to have an opportunity to debrief and learn more about this decision," Raytheon spokesman Mike Doble said.
MADE IN CHINA
CPMIEC does not make missiles itself. The two main manufacturers are China Aerospace Science and Technology Corp (CASC) and China Aerospace Science and Industry Corp (CASIC). CASC makes intercontinental ballistic missiles, while CASIC focuses on short- and intermediate-range rockets.
After decades of steep military spending increases and cash injections into local contractors, experts say some Chinese-made equipment is now comparable to Russian or Western weaponry.
China last year became the world's fifth-biggest arms supplier with 5 percent of the market, according to the Stockholm International Peace Research Institute. Pakistan was its biggest buyer.
Turkish Defence Minister Ismet Yilmaz's statement also said a contract to produce six corvette ships by Koc Holding , Turkey's biggest conglomerate, had been cancelled. A contract to build two ships would be awarded to the Turkish naval shipyard. The construction of four remaining ships will be put out to tender later, Yilmaz said.
Koc Holding was recently accused of backing the 1997 military overthrow of Turkey's first Islamist-led government, sending the firm's shares tumbling on fears of a deepening vendetta against the country's secular business elite.
No this SAM deal is not the only China Turkey defense project, there were many more.
The Turkish government launched a probe into the taxes of Koc energy firms in July, weeks after criticising one of the family's hotels for sheltering protesters during anti-government unrest that rocked several cities over the summer.
Monday, September 07, 2009
Chinese Missiles on display during Turkey's Victory Day Parade.
Sino-Turkey relations in regards to the Uyghur communities in Xinjiang is complex; for a good backgrounder, see Yitzhak Shichor's “Ethno-Diplomacy: The Uyghur Hitch in Sino-Turkish Relations” (Here)
Turkey marks Victory Day with military parades
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/newsbriefs/setimes/newsbriefs/2009/08/31/nb-09
31/08/2009
ANKARA, Turkey -- The country celebrated Victory Day with military parades in Ankara and other big cities Sunday (August 30th). The largest parade was in Ankara, where about 8,000 military officers marched past President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, General Staff chief Ilker Basbug and other senior officials. Warplanes flew overhead, while dozens of tanks and armoured vehicles rumbled past. Victory Day celebrates the Turkish army's win, under Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in the 1919-1922 Greek-Turkish war. The day also honours Turkish armed forces. (AFP, Anadolu news agency - 30/08/09)
WS-2 Long Range MRL (400mm Range)
B-6111 Heavy Long Range Rocket
http://china-defense.blogspot.com/2009/03/turkey-only-nato-nation-with-large.html
Turkey, the only NATO nation with a large Chinese arsenal in its military has called to raise military cooperation, they also jointly market their rockets and some of those rockets were battle tested against PKK guerrillas in northern Iraq in late 2007. I am surprise to see all those exchanges did not rise too much of a concern in Washington and elsewhere. Maybe, just maybe, there is a benefit being a member of NATO, if Iran would get its hands on a B611, oh boy.
Turkey, China to raise military cooperation
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=170574&bolum=100
Turkish Military Academies Commander Gen. Hasan Aksay who is in China, said Turkey and China should consider conducting joint military exercises: "Our talks should not remain limited to educational activities. We should think about joint military exercises."
In addition, China's Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ge Zhenfeng said they expect to receive more military students from Turkey; since 1985, China has received 18 military delegations consisting of 200 people from Turkey. Turkey received 14 Chinese military delegations with more than 330 representatives in the same period, officials said.
Zhenfeng also said that he admires the Turkish military, "With its educational achievements and its combat capabilities, the Turkish military has made a deep impression on my mind," and added the Turkish military was exceptionally "disciplined." He also expressed his country's gratitude for Turkey's "one China" policy.
Aksay is expected to visit Shanghai today and leave China tomorrow.
25 March 2009, Wednesday
OSMAN EROL BEIJING
Photos of B611 and WS-2 long range Rockets in a Turkish military parade
Turkey, China jointly develop advanced rocket for Mideast market
WASHINGTON — China and Turkey have completed development of the B-611 rocket, a secret effort to supply artillery-based rockets to both countries as well as client states, particularly in the Middle East.
"We also have to consider a gray area, in which a couple of Chinese companies are now marketing artillery rockets that border on the edge of short-range ballistic missiles," said Richard Fischer, a leading U.S. expert on China's military. "The B-611 was developed in cooperation with Turkey, the WS-2."
The WS-2 is a Chinese rocket with a range of up to 180 kilometers. It is a variant of the Soviet-origin Frog-7. The B-611, with a range of 150 kilometers, was first displayed at China's International Aviation and Space Exhibition in 2004.
The B-611 does not violate any weapons-control regime. It has many of the properties of a guided missile and could be used by U.S. adversaries.
"The key advantage is that these are much cheaper to produce," Fischer told the American Enterprise Institute on July 11. "If you could put a terminally guided anti-ship warhead on the B-611, then you have the potential to sell [Venezuelan President] Hugo Chavez something that would give the American Navy something to think about."
Uzi Rubin, regarded as the father of Israel's missile defense program, said commercial off-the-shelf technology and components could be used to convert unguided rockets to accurate ballistic missiles. Rubin, who has written a report on the topic, cited the availability of onboard inertial and satellite navigation systems as well as software.
Turkish participation in the B-611 project has triggered concerns over non-proliferation in the Bush administration. But so far the administration has not expressed concern over the Chinese-Turkish project.
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