Though Turkey in 2004 initiated a policy to reduce dependence on foreign technologies, it will take a long period of time for this NATO member country to domestically produce certain technology that will allow it to operate its systems independently, without being affected by strained ties with third parties.
Ankara has long been dependant on US military technology but faced embargoes imposed by the US Congress as a result of Turkey’s poor human rights record as well as its strained ties with both Greece and Armenia. Those strained ties have been used by strong Greek and Armenian lobbies to force the US Congress to adopt negative policy measures towards Turkey.
In order to bypass the US Congress, Turkey and Israel back in 1996 forged ties and started military cooperation with the US administration’s consent. Since then, Turkey and Israel have engaged in close cooperation in the development of defense technology.
But this relationship has always benefitted Israel more than Turkey since the country has not sought, in a parallel move, to strengthen its defense industry base by developing its own military technology. Therefore, Turkey’s dependence on critical foreign military technology shifted from the US to Israel.
In addition, Turkish contracts awarded to Israel have been mired in controversy due to allegations of corruption as well as claims that the financial costs of the contracts with Israel exceeded the actual worth of the projects. But the media making such allegations have been silenced by the military.
When Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan last week accused Israel of failing to meet its obligations with regard to defense deals, saying it had not returned six Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) Heron unmanned aerial vehicles that were in Israel for maintenance, Turkey’s dependence resurfaced.
Once close military partners, Turkish-Israeli ties have further deteriorated following the release of a United Nations report two weeks ago on the killing of nine Turks (one of them Turkish-American) during an Israeli raid on a flotilla bound for the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip in May 2010. The UN report accused Israel of using excessive force yet describes Israel’s blockade of Gaza as legitimate. Turkey said it does not recognize the report.
Turkey announced on Sept. 2 that it was expelling Israel’s ambassador and other senior diplomats while freezing defense industry trade with this country. Hinting at creating a possible military confrontation with Israel, Erdoğan said last week that the Turkish navy will increase its presence in and surveillance of the eastern Mediterranean.
Turkey purchased 10 Heron UAVs, totaling some $183 million, with deliveries in 2010.
“Israelis are not loyal to agreements with Turkey’s defense industry,” Erdoğan said. “There might be problems, you may not be speaking to each other, but you have to fulfill your responsibility under international agreements.”
The Heron incident and the complaints made by Erdoğan reminded us once again that dependence on third parties for critical technology deeply affects the dependant country’s room for maneuvering in advancing its policy goals.
UAVs are important in Turkey’s currently intensified fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). But UAVs alone cannot be the determining factor in the application of military means in the fight against the PKK as it needs an integrated military and political strategy. Needless to say, this is another topic that should be dealt with separately.
The underlying problem concerning the latest debate over Turkish accusations that Israel did not return some UAVs sent back to Israel for maintenance in a timely manner has been the persistent Turkish failure to learn its lesson from past mistakes over the negative repercussions of being heavily dependant on foreign military as well as civilian technology.
A recent Turkish trial of naval and civilian bureaucrat suspects on charges of selling military secrets abroad reminded us of another aspect of the Turkish handling of its defense industry sector. On the one hand Turkey has been lagging far behind many countries in the development of critical arms technology despite the fact that it has still been earmarking large amounts of resources for military expenses, including arms purchases. On the other hand the absence of strict civilian control over Turkish arms procurement procedures makes the covert domestic development of arms vulnerable to leaks. The suspects are accused of selling, or being on the verge of selling, sensitive information on a large number of security projects to unspecified foreign intelligence services.
Why don’t the nation’s political parties and Parliament have anything to say in regard to this appalling situation arising from Turkey’s dependency on foreign military technology? Why does the government not take action?
Not a single word has been uttered by the opposition, either, in the face of the alleged selling of Turkish secret projects abroad. The indifference of elected politicians to these grave developments is not acceptable.
