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ANKARA, Turkey, June 16 (UPI) -- Turkey has moved to sign a contract of foreign military sales with the United States, including the procurement of nine attack helicopters for its land forces. The decision was taken during a meeting of the country's powerful defense industry executive committee, in Ankara.
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Under the decision the committee revised the number of general purpose helicopters to be procured, deciding "urgently to order attack helicopters and develop helicopters that could be used for training purposes," the World Bulletin reported.
It didn't elaborate but attack helicopters have been on Turkey's defense procurement agenda since the 1990s.
In recent years and in a bid to increase Turkey's crackdown of Kurdish militant forces, Ankara designated attack helicopters as a so-called urgent requirement, developing also a multimillion-dollar program to suit the army's combat needs.
Price disputes, however, have been a source of friction, leading to the cancellation of certain purchases.
The latest procurement was endorsed by Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who in response to questions by reporters said there was no plan to scrap a deal with Israel concerning the supply of unmanned air vehicles.
Last April and following months of acrimonious debate, Turkey took delivery of six of 10 Heron drone aircraft ordered from Israel.
The delayed delivery followed a fence-mending trip to Turkey that Israeli Defense Minister Ehud Barak took to in January in a bid to ease the fallout of a diplomatic tiff spanning from the late order and Ankara's criticism of Israeli policies toward the Palestinians.
Since then, however, relations have taken a turn for the worst following a deadly raid on a humanitarian flotilla bound to Gaza. Nine Turkish aid workers were killed in the operation by Israeli commandos, who said they were attacked and acted in self-defense.
Turkey awarded the lucrative contract five years ago, placing the order with Israel Aerospace Industries and Elbit. Both companies beat major U.S. competitors but the contract was bogged from the start with delays stemming from technical problems.
The contract deadline was initially set at 24-30 months.
Four drones remain to be delivered to Turkey. But following the meeting of the defense committee, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said a team of experts were set to visit Israel to "test and take delivery of the aircraft,' World Bulletin reported.
The official was quoted saying that U.S. aerospace and defense company Sikorsky was competing for the supply of general purpose helicopters against the Italian company AgustaWestland.
