Haaretz: Turkey may cancel Israel pledge
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 19, 2009 09:50
ISTANBUL - The Turkish Defense Ministry is considering canceling the purchase of 10 Israeli-made attack drones because the Israel Aerospace Industry, or IAI, and Elbit have missed deadlines, reported the Haaretz daily yesterday.
The $185 million deal for the Heron unmanned aerial vehicles was signed in 2005. IAI and Elbit were supposed to deliver the drones a year ago. According to Turkish military sources quoted in the local press, the Israeli firms complained that the Turkish contractor, Aslan, was responsible for the delays.
IAI said that the main problem was the camera developed by the Turkish contractor. The camera was too heavy, and prevented the drone from reaching an altitude of 30,000 feet, in keeping with the project prospectus. Turkish counterclaims hold that the Israeli firms are coming up with technical excuses in order to avoid fines for violating the agreement. A source at the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Sunday that the Israeli companies were aware how much the camera weighed and the problems that this could cause, but had promised that "this would not be a problem."
The Heron or Machatz-1 is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle developed by the Malat (UAV) division of IAI. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 35,000 feet.
IAI said that the main problem was the camera developed by the Turkish contractor. The camera was too heavy, and prevented the drone from reaching an altitude of 30,000 feet, in keeping with the project prospectus. Turkish counterclaims hold that the Israeli firms are coming up with technical excuses in order to avoid fines for violating the agreement. A source at the Turkish Defense Ministry said on Sunday that the Israeli companies were aware how much the camera weighed and the problems that this could cause, but had promised that "this would not be a problem."
The Heron or Machatz-1 is an Unmanned Aerial Vehicle developed by the Malat (UAV) division of IAI. It is capable of Medium Altitude Long Endurance (MALE) operations of up to 52 hours' duration at up to 35,000 feet.