27-11-2005, 22:04
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חנוכת פס ייצור להשבחת טנקים בטורקיה - מתוך Defense News
Israel, Turkey Dedicate Tank Production Line
By BARBARA OPALL-ROME, TEL AVIV
Israeli and Turkish defense officials marked the start of joint production of upgraded M60A1 tanks for the Turkish Army in Nov. 22 ceremonies at Kayseri, Turkey, site of the new production line.
Murad Bayar, director of the Turkish Defense Ministry’s Undersecretariat for Defense Industries or Savunma Sanayi Mustesarligi (SSM), hosted the Israeli delegation, which included Israeli Defense Ministry Director-General Jacob Toren, Yossi Ben-Hanan, director of the ministry’s Sibat export agency, and executives from Israel Military Industries (IMI) and Elbit Systems, lead industrial partners in the upgrade program.
The $688 million program calls for upgrading 170 M60 tanks to front-line condition based on advanced technologies and systems developed for Israel’s Merkava main battle tank. Under the contract concluded by the two governments in 2002, Israel committed to transferring to Turkey a significant amount of technology needed to ensure efficient in-country conversion and production of the modernized platforms.
The contract also required Israel to develop two prototypes designed specifically for Turkish Army requirements and to conduct a series of field tests validating the upgraded platform and its associated systems. Initial delays in prototype development and field testing prompted Turkey’s SSM earlier this year to withhold a payment of $93 million to prime contractor IMI.
Israeli and Turkish officials acknowledged initial tension in the high-priority program due to delays, managerial disputes and changing customer requirements. Nevertheless, sources said Ankara’s receipt last week of the modernized prototype following rigorous field tests in Israel demonstrates that the program is back on track.
“The prototype was delivered last week to the satisfaction of the customer, and it will undergo additional testing in Turkey,” an Israeli industry official said.
The official said the second prototype will remain in Israel for testing. He estimated that pilot production of major components in the Turkish tank conversion program would extend through late 2006, and that full serial production at the Kayseri facility in central Turkey would begin in early 2007. All 170 of the upgraded tanks should be ready for delivery to Turkey’s Land Forces Command by the end of 2009, sources here said.
Among the systems and technologies incorporated in the program are a fire control system and turret control system, advanced armor, a new power pack unit and a 120mm gun. Turkish industries working in partnership with IMI and Elbit include Aselsan Military Electronics Industries and Makina ve Kimya Endustrisi Kurumu, both of Ankara.
The program is managed by the SSM, the Turkish Defense Ministry’s procurement office.
Upgraded Turkish tanks will be outfitted with advanced armor designed for Israel’s newest Merkava Mk4 models, which program officials here say offer significantly enhanced survivability over earlier generations of Mk2 and Mk3 tanks. But even those older-model tanks are highly survivable in comparison with other frontline platforms, as demonstrated most recently in clashes along Israel’s northern border.
According to officials here, two Merkava Mk2s deployed in the sector sustained direct hits by anti-tank missiles and rockets launched Nov. 21 by Hizbollah forces in southern Lebanon. Despite repeated hits, all crew members survived the barrage, and only one soldier was later treated for light injuries.
“One of the Mk2s took seven hits and another was struck three times, but managed to carry on with its mission,” said Brig. Gen. Amir Nir, director of Israel’s Merkava tank program. “This is not surprising, since the subject of armored protection and survivability has been our supreme priority since the very beginning of our tank program. It’s built into our design and has served as the philosophical basis for our concept of operations. The armored capabilities destined for the Turkish upgrade program will be even greater than those involved in this week’s event on our northern border.”
In a Nov. 23 statement, Israeli Ministry of Defense spokeswoman Rachel Naidek-Ashkenazi said the Turkish tank modernization program “embodies years of accumulated technological and battlefield experience” on the part of Israeli industry and Israel’s Armored Corps.
She said Toren and Bayar discussed “the uniqueness of the project and how its contribution to cooperation between Israel and Turkey serves as a successful expression of bilateral defense industrial cooperation.”
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