Lockheed intensifies efforts to sell Turkey missile defense systems

negotiations are said to have begun between Raytheon and Turkish companies for the possible procurement of missile defense systems.

While the companies duke it out for contracts, Turkey has hinted that it would also like to combine various missile defense systems from different countries in order to maximize efficiency, and, as observers have pointed out, maximize leverage in negotiations.

U.S. officials are not keen on the idea of sharing their technology with potential adversaries. While in Ankara early last year, U.S. defense secretary Robert Gates said that any purchase of missile systems by Turkey should be in coordination with NATO’s defense systems. He said Turkey should discuss this issue with its NATO allies.

When asked by Today’s Zaman about the willingness of Lockheed Martin to operate interoperably, Cavin said, “Interoperability is a key element of our allies and US defense architecture.” Referring to the ability of the PAC-3 systems to operate with the input of additional technology from other firms, Cavin added, “But, if you talk of inter-operability with respect to people who are not yet our allies, then that’s a separate issue and it involves a lot of government policy decisions.”

Understanding this rationale would seem to be straight forward enough: Interoperability involves the exchange of intellectual property and other sensitive data — data that countries with longstanding hostilities would be reluctant to share. “You have to buy for the long haul, and Lockheed Martin will be here for the long haul,” says Cavin. “We have proven this with the F-16, which was one of the first offshore production products and which enjoyed significant contribution from Turkish Aerospace Industries [TAI]. Lockheed Martin has been here the whole time. We are a solid, accountable company who value the products we produce and our customers.”

Why does Turkey need such an elaborate missile defense system? According to Lockheed Martin, the reason lies, at least in part, with the threats posed by a number of Turkey’s neighbors. Most of the global “bad actors,” including Iran, have been developing short-range and long-range tactical missiles. Any appropriate response, the argument goes, has to be built on a layered defense. “We use a combination of mid-course intercepts, high terminal intercepts and lower terminal intercepts. Systems that fit that category are the Patriot PAC-3 missile for shorter-range missiles. The Thaad system takes on medium range and some shorter-range intercontinental. And then the SM3 for the mid-course,” Cavin explained, emphasizing that if a target is engaged far enough out, a number of stop-gap measures can be implemented that can discriminate to find the real warhead sooner. “Our programs that are in existence today all use hit-to-kill technology (body-to-body technology). This has proven to be the most lethal method for missile defense. … So if you are going to build layered defense, you want to build it around a technology that works, which means you want to build around hit-to-kill.”