WASHINGTON, April 25 (UPI) -- Iran's drive to develop nuclear weapons has alarmed neighboring Turkey. Now the Turkish government is planning to buy BMD systems to defend the country. The new policy could mean big contracts for major U.S. defense contractors, but the Turks are looking at Chinese and Israeli companies for possible orders, too.
"Turkey has accelerated efforts to acquire different sorts of missile defense systems to deter a possible attack on its homeland," the newspaper Zaman reported Sunday.
The Undersecretariat of the Defense Industry, or SSM, has sent out a series of formal requests for information, or RfIs, "for the acquisition of various types of air defense systems for the three main branches of the armed forces, the Turkish Air Force Command, Land Forces Command and Naval Forces Command," the newspaper said.
"An RfI issued on April 18 covers the procurement of 45 (with an option for a further 45) low-altitude air defense missile systems (T-LALADMIS) for the Land Forces and 12 low-altitude air defense missile systems for the Naval Forces," Zaman said.
"The SSM issued an RfI on March 21 for the acquisition of three medium-altitude air defense missile systems (T-MALADMIS) for the Land Forces and companies have until June 1 to respond. Forces and companies have until June 1 to respond," it said.
"Also in March, the SSM issued an RfI for the acquisition of four long-range air and missile defense systems (T-LORAMIDS) to meet the requirements of the Air Force Command," the report said.
Zaman said April 17 that 13 companies had "declared their intention to respond" to the RfIs. Among the corporations interested in the potential Turkish market for BMD systems were Boeing, Lockheed Martin and Raytheon from the United States. Zaman said the three U.S. aerospace giants had already "reportedly teamed up to meet Turkish requirements for Patriot PAC-3s."
However, the newspaper said that China's CPMIEC and Israel Aerospace Industries were also interested in selling systems. Turkish companies that had responded included Aselsan, FNSS and Roketsan, the report said.
India's supersonic cruise missile on a roll
The Indian government has announced the successful test-firing of the BrahMos supersonic cruise missile from the Integrated Test Range at Chandipur, the Hindustan Times reported Sunday. The launch came less than two weeks after India's previously troubled Agni III intermediate-range ballistic missile was successful test-fired April 12 from Wheeler Island on a test flight over the Bay of Bengal, as we reported last week.
Unlike the Agni III flight, the BrahMos test was not a dramatic breakthrough. But it testified to an ambitious development program that is advancing smoothly. The BrahMos has now been test-fired 14 times and is well on the way to establishing itself as a mature technology. The most recent previous test was on Feb. 4.
The BrahMos is a surface-to-surface missile, jointly developed by India and Russia. It was fired from a Tatra truck that served as a mobile launcher, the Hindustan Times said. The newspaper noted that the missile has a range of about 180 miles and is to be operated by the Indian Army. It said the BrahMos is about 28 feet long and weighs 3.8 tons at launch. The report said it had an impressive speed of Mach 2.8 to 3.
"While the land-to-land and ship-launched variants of the BrahMos missile have already been successfully test-fired several times, BrahMos Aerospace Private Ltd (the joint-venture company between India and Russia created through an inter-governmental agreement in 1998) is now aiming for the launch of air-launched and submarine-launched variants of the missile," the Hindustan Times said.
The newspaper said BrahMos Aerospace had "already started talks with the Indian navy to get a Kilo-class or some other submarine on loan to launch the missile from under the sea. Sources also revealed that the submarine variants alternatively could be tested in Russian waters from a Russian submarine. "
"For the air-launched version, the missile would be integrated with Sukhoi MKI multi-role fighter aircraft. The air-launched version has a smaller booster and additional tail-fins for stability during launch," the newspaper said.
United States plans new BMD base on Guam
U.S. policymakers are pushing ahead with their plans to relocate U.S. ballistic missile defense assets to the Central Pacific as they scale down the direct U.S. military presence in Japan.
The Australian Broadcasting Corp. reported Monday that the Pentagon intends to set up a new BMD base on Guam after transferring 8,000 U.S. Marines currently based in Japan to the island. ABC said 630 troops would operate the new facility.
"The BMD system would be capable of intercepting missiles that either have the potential to impact military assets or involve long-range attacks on U.S. allies in the Asia-Pacific region," ABC said.
