Missile shopping: Turkey to buy long-range missile system

Published time: June 29, 2012 17:08
Edited time: June 29, 2012 21:08
An Iron Dome launcher fires an interceptor rocket (Reuters/Baz Ratner)

Turkey is looking to buy a new long-range air-defense missile system soon, the country’s Defense Procurement Agency has announced. The news comes as relations with neighboring Syria grow increasingly tense.

­The Turkish move is part of a move to strengthen the country's military.   Currently, Turkey’s armed forces do not have a long-range missile system.  

On Thursday Turkish officials confirmed the deployment of anti-aircraft batteries close to the border with Syria.

This is seen as a response to the latest incident between the two countries when Syria shot down a Turkish warplane which had stranded into the Syrian territory. Turkey has been pushing NATO to treat Syria's actions as an attack on the alliance.

Companies likely to compete for the $4 billion contract include Raytheon and Lockheed Martin of the United States, Rosoboronexport of Russia, CPMIEC of China and the French-Italian consortium, Eurosam.

A Western diplomatic source told AFP a shortlist would be announced on July 11 or 12.

He also said that France has a good chance of winning the order as the country’s new President Francois Hollande – unlike his predecessor Nicolas Sarkozy – does not plan to make denial of the Armenian genocide a criminal offence.

China and Russia are unlikely to succeed as neither of them belongs to NATO. Turkish media say this is likely to influence the decision of Turkey, which is a member of the alliance.

Comments (18)

MostCommentatorsAreIgnorant (unregistered) 02.07.2012 20:57

Seems ignorant people have commented here due to their hatred/racist ambitions. The long range missiles Turkey is seeking is for air defence, it is to shoot down any aircraft and/or missile ATTACKING Turkey. The amount of racist and ignorant perception some people have towards Turks and/or muslims is saddening and sickening. Check your hearts before everyone suffers. And read a Quran before you think you hate it:www (dot) AllahsQuran (dot) com

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mike (unregistered) 30.06.2012 17:26

Tornuggleman - and the likes - if you think that you are enlightened by reading anti-Islamic authors then enjoy your bliss of ignorance. If Islam was about phedophilia and tyranny - then it would have died with the man propogating it. Rather then reading propganda, go and read what Muhammad preached - which is the same what Jesus, Moses or any Abrahamic phrophet said. There are 1.5 billion Muslims and if all of them were savages you would not live a very long life, yet to condem all for few. Every religon has its own minority which is extremist in its views. Much of what you see that is blamed on Muslims may not even infact be true. Believe what you will, but truth will always prevail. The Jews did indeed reject Jesus despite having been foretold of his coming - as do you now reject Muhammad, despite having been foretold his coming by Jesus. You are all the same... 

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Bogdan (unregistered) 30.06.2012 16:09

Tornuggleman (unregistered) wrote in #7 Just another murderous muhammedan threat !I dislike these viscious and murderous cultmembers more and more !I live in Sweden who have all doors open for these very dangerous and peculiar "people". They worship a pedofile and are fighting each other and the world for a book !???Is this book not the reason why muhammedans allways suffer and can´t respect other ways of living ? :: > Gläfsande hundar bits inte, ärade Lord Haw-Haw!

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