via Navy Recognition.
Turkey's Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) just announced via press release that it selected Sedef shipyard as winner of its LPD tender and that final contract negotiations with this shipyard can now begin. Sedef shipyard in Turkey offers a design based on Juan Carlos LHD under the collaboration with Spain's Navantia.I am seeing a disturbing worldwide trend.
Countries around the world are gearing up. The countries in the Middle East are buying everything they can lay their hands on...same is going on in the Pacific. This latest buy from the Turks is just another indication that we're seeing forces go from a strictly defense profile to one of force projection.
The answer from the US and our European allies (who are all in the midst of rather dramatic cuts in defense spending)?
Partnership missions.
I see no indication from the State Department or the Pentagon that alarm bells are being rung.
But consider this.
The more capable 3rd world forces become, the less likely we are to successfully intervene if those nations go rogue. Stable governments today can become radical governments overnight. And while I am a fan of Turkey and cheer their modernization, I also remember this past year when that country looked to be on the brink.
Partnership missions as in "joint ops" ?
ReplyDeleteWell allies do train for that:
http://www.dvidshub.net/image/1139848/multinational-aerial-refueling#.UsKdKrR0mOc
https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.640384612660809.1073741850.106168799415729&type=1
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=651284611570809&set=a.390411807658092.95917.106168799415729&type=1&theater
https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid=647241551975115&set=a.130859803613295.14550.106168799415729&type=1&theater
I have always been a bit of a fan of the Turks. They have a very capable Navy and thus far, seem to have weathered the world-wide recession with comparitive ease and with little effect on their ever expanding defence budget. While the Greeks are mired in finanacial trouble and other Southern European NATO countries are having to slash and burn the Turkish Navy is becoming a very powerful force in that part of the world.....
ReplyDeleteindeed, but i can't help but remember the protests earlier this year and quite honestly it worries me. i don't have a good view of the issues so i don't know if we were seeing an "Arab spring" type issue or whether we were seeing the population fighting against strict muslim law in preference to a western style society.
Deleteadditionally i wonder what the impact on the military and defense sector was during that time.
Rise of the Ottomans as my friend said, thru Turks are large and as rather modern history show us very capable nation. Strong economy on pair with fast growing modern military industry, they will again became very strong and important player on border of Europe. I hope they will stay in our friends party.
DeleteAll the press releases cannot paper over all the warts: http://pjmedia.com/spengler/2013/12/27/the-end-of-erdogans-cave-of-wonders-an-i-told-you-so/
ReplyDeleteI wouldn't be surprise, that the LHD's such as the Juan Carlos LHD are becoming a HOT item these days. Countries with very strong Navies want Amphibious capability & force projections. I would suspect, Frigate's LHD's and SSK submarines would be a hot item for emerging Navies in the next 10 to 20 years down the road.
ReplyDeleteI don't worry about Turkey much, actually. Even though I recently read the military is opting not do anything at the moment, Turkey has a long history of the armed forces stepping in when the politicians stray too far from Ataturk's secular ideals. And second, I've recently read a great many Turks are itching for the next election so they can vote out the current Islamist government. Unlike much of the rest of the Muslim world with top heavy dictatorships or unstable democracies, I think Turkey's democratic tradition is too solid to be kicked over overnight.
ReplyDeleteNah, Turkey is ****ed
ReplyDeleteThe generals havent toppled erdogan because they dont have the forces to do so.
The generals might support AtaTurk, but the majors and the privates dont.
That said, the Kemelite are hardly "good", have a look at turkish Demographics over the last 100 years, One province has gone from majority christian to 40, FORTY, christians.
The real fight now is between AKP and Hizmet
I wonder how Turkey plans to fit the F-35Bs into Juan Carlos class ships, because the Juan Carlos ships don't have the hanger height necessary to operate the F-35Bs. The Cavour and the Izumo are minimum ship sizes needed to operate the F-35Bs, so the Spanish shipyard would have had to enlarge it.
ReplyDelete