Non-Subscriber Extract
Turkey signs $1b howitzer deal with South Korea
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| 3 August 2001 |
By LALE SARIIBRAHIMOGLU, Ankara
Additional reporting
by CHRISTOPHER F FOSS, London
Turkey
has signed a $1 billion deal with Samsung Techwin under which the South
Korean company could supply components for more than 300 155mm/52-cal tracked
self-propelled howitzers (SPHs) over the next 10 years. The contract is
the largest defence export order ever won by South Korean industry. The deal marks an important step in Turkey's diversification of its arms suppliers away from NATO allies, some of which have been imposing restrictions over arms transfers due to Ankara's human rights record. The Turkish Land Forces Command (TLFC) had hoped to acquire the Krauss-Maffei Wegmann 155mm/52-cal PzH 2000 SPH, but the German government refused to allow its export to Turkey.
In late 1999 Turkey unveiled a prototype SPH designated SP2000, equipped with a 155mm/39-cal barrel (JDW 13 October 1999). This built on experience gained by Turkey's state-owned Machines and Chemical Industries Board (MKEK) in the modernisation of elderly US-supplied 105mm M52 and 155mm M44 SPHs that equip the Turkish Army.
However, local industry sources suggested that the SP2000 would not meet the TLFC's requirements. Officials said a new prototype with a 155mm/52-cal ordnance would be developed with Samsung's assistance.
The new agreement was revealed on 21 July when a Korea Herald newspaper report quoted South Korean defence officials saying that the agreement had been signed between Samsung and TLFC officials in Seoul on 20 July. Turkish and South Korean officials signed a memorandum of understanding on the transaction in May last year.
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| K9 155mm SPH firing at maximum elevation. (Source: CF Foss/Jane's) |