Turkey to raise defends funds over the next decade after a silence due to the 2000 economic crisis. Economy seems more stable and capable to support major scale programs. I guess the same will see and on the western Aegean coast. Here is an article from a turkish newspaper.
Ankara/Washington – TDN Defense Desk
"Multiple security threats surrounding Turkey, both conventional and asymmetrical, may soon force Turkey's military, government and procurement officials to rethink the country's defense budget.
A top security official said that Ankara will need to increase the budget for defense acquisitions in the near future to challenge mounting security threats in this part of the world.
“There are increasing threats of all kinds, including an increasing need to contribute to international missions and a simultaneous need to modernize NATO's second largest army and compensate for weaknesses, such as missile defense. That requires a larger budget,” the official said.
These words echo what Turkey's new military chief, Army Gen. Yasar Buyukanit said during a military ceremony on Aug. 30: “We face both symmetrical and asymmetrical threats.”
Turkey, which neighbors Syria, Iraq and Iran in the south and east and traditional rival Greece in the west, thinks the turmoil in Iraq, Tehran's nuclear ambitions and the increasing tension between Damascus and Washington pose serious security threats.
The National Security Council's white paper on security threats mentions all of these problematic areas as well as asymmetrical risks (separatist and Islamic fundamentalist terror) as primary threats against Turkey. Since the paper was endorsed by the government earlier this year, the situation has deteriorated in Turkey's southern and eastern neighbors but and also in the Middle East as a whole since Israel's offensive into Lebanese territory.
"In light of the increasing threats in Turkey's region, the tendency on the part of our government and our military is to spend more for defense in the coming years, and we have huge acquisition programs awaiting decision in the short and medium-term," said one senior procurement official.
"Turkey's financial situation is stable, and we can afford to spend more on defense over the next decade, hopefully," said the official. Exact figures for future spending budgets were not clear, but a military official said that the Armed Forces would demand a larger budget for 2007 and onwards in order to finance several large-scale procurement programs. The budget for 2007 will be drafted by the government in October.
Turkey presently spends more than $3.7 billion for defense procurement annually. The Defense Ministry spends about $2.7 billion, or about one-third of its entire budget, for new equipment and modernization programs. That figure excludes around $1 billion extra revenue from an annual defense industry support fund which collects receipts through indirect taxes and levies on alcohol, tobacco and lottery ticket sales.
In some cases, the Treasury also contributes funds for defense, said the same procurement official. But since Turkey's budgetary spending is subject to International Monetary Fund (IMF) consent due to a stand-by loan agreement, the Treasury's financing of defense programs may be limited to a few high-priority contracts.
Turkey's top defense programs over the next 15 years will include the procurement of nearly 100 new generation fighter aircraft worth some $10 billion. The contenders are the U.S.-led F-35 JSF Lightning II and Europe's Eurofighter Typhoon.
Turkey is due to decide on its choice before year end, and Defense Industry Undersecretary Murad Bayar, whose office, the Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM), oversees procurement, has said that the country will buy "only the JSF, only the Eurofighter or a combination of both." Turkey's government is expected to make a decision before the end of this year.
Other programs include the co-production of an initial batch of 30 attack helicopters, the building and launching of the country's first military satellite and the acquisition of 45 basic jet trainers. Other acquisitions include 12 marine helicopters and 32 utility helicopters. There will also be several other naval, electronics, electronic warfare, unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV), radar and communications programs.
One key program Turkey only recently has launched is the purchase of a medium-range missile defense system consisting of at least four launchers, radars and related equipment and services. Recently, the government has given its nod for Treasury-backed financing of the approximately $1 billion program.
SSM will soon launch a formal bidding, and the two top contenders will include Lockheed Martin's Patriot Advanced Capability-3 (PAC-3) system and Russia's rival S300 and S400 systems. Procurement officials said Turkey also plans to buy a second system, but this time through co-production.
"Turkey unofficially admits that it sees Iran's surface-to-surface missiles as a threat, but it lacks proper missile defenses," said a defense analyst in Ankara. "Its eventual decision to buy such systems is a belated one. But better late than never"
just kidding...) and that's why I'm closer to 700M€ for an AAW version of FREMM. By AAW version I mean 2 x 16 Sylver A50 or A70 launchers, EMPAR (Herakles is too short ranged to guide Aster 30s).