Turkey leans to arms purchase for terror fight

Turkey’s new strategy to fight the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, likely will require a faster-than-usual weapons procurement mechanism for systems required in the country’s anti-terror warfare, officials and analysts said Wednesday.

The new plan discussed at a recent meeting of the powerful National Security Board, or MGK, calls for both military and non-military means to fight the PKK’s terrorism, which has taken over 40,000 lives since 1984.

“Fighting terrorism is our number-one priority. And there is an understanding [at the MGK] that the equipment essential for our anti-terror war should be procured immediately, through off-the-shelf purchases if necessary,” said one procurement official.

The official said priority purchases as part of this understanding may include systems like unmanned aerial vehicles.

An essential system used in Turkey’s southeast is attack helicopters. The first 60 T-129 attack helicopters jointly manufactured by Italy’s AgustaWestland and Turkish Aerospace Industries, or TAI, are scheduled to be delivered toward the end of next year. The first nine of those choppers are designated as an urgent purchase. The whole 60 helicopters will cost billions of dollars.

Also as an indication of the new strategy, Turkey will soon be deploying in the southeast more Kirpi mine-resistant, ambush-protected, or MRAP, armored vehicles built by BMC, a Turkish manufacturer. Presently the Turkish military operates around 500 Kirpis.

In recent years Turkey’s procurement authorities have almost entirely ruled out off-the-shelf purchases, opting for either indigenous development or co-production. But the new anti-terror strategy implies that off-the-shelf procurement can be resumed at least in selected equipment and systems.

The MGK is chaired by President Abdullah Gül. Other members include Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and key Cabinet ministers as well as the military’s top brass.

Security officials said a two-pronged plan is in the offing. “We will combine a hard line on the military front while passing reforms to please the civilians,” one official said. The same view was echoed by Deputy Prime Minister Hüseyin Çelik: “We will pursue a hawkish line in our fight with the PKK while maintaining a dovish line concerning our Kurds.”

The security official said the new strategy called for an immediate mobilization of thousands of professional soldiers and security personnel into the combat zone.


/Hurriyet Daily News/