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Turkey
has again postponed the final selection of the manufacturer of the $4
billion attack helicopter project, and no decision will now be given
until March 6, as opposed to Feb. 21. Written statements from bidding
companies to ensure export clearance from their governments have not
been received. Ten days ago Turkey requested that the bidding companies
submit their best and final offers and their letters of assurance to the
Undersecretariat for the Defense Industry (SSM) by today. It is
understood that so far only the Russian companies have come up with a
letter of assurances for export clearance. Two U.S. companies -- Boeing
and Bell -- have submitted their required letters, but they could not
commit to having any export guarantees. In the letters the companies
advised Turkey to directly contact the governments involved for export
licenses. They recalled that the U.S. administration gave marketing
licenses to the companies two years ago, paving the way for them to bid
in the Turkish project. The U.S. government at that time indicated that
if any of the companies were selected in the attack helicopter project,
the administration would view it in an unbiased manner, and this was
reiterated in the companies' letters to the SSM.
Traditionally governments importing arms should directly contact the
exporter's government for export clearance rather than going through the
companies themselves. However, by requesting export clearance guarantees
from the companies, Turkey is putting pressure on the respective
governments but avoiding placing a strain on relations with the nations
themselves. The SSM also requested that the companies clarify what their
life-cycle costs would be on the attack helicopter project.
Recently appointed SSM Undersecretary Professor Dursun Ali Ercan told
that the selection of a company is being postponed because he needs time
to examine the project himself.
A senior defense industry source said that the SSM has introduced new
methods in the pre-selection of defense industry projects. According to
this new practice a consultation mechanism has been established to
thoroughly brief members of the SSM executive board on projects before
any decision is made. The SSM executive board is comprised of the prime
minister, the minister of defense, the chief of general staff and the
commander of one of the forces related to the project.
The SSM undersecretary acts as secretary in SSM executive board
meetings. The consultative board, meanwhile, is composed of high-ranking
generals from the General Staff as well as a senior general from the
related command depending on the project and the SSM undersecretary. The
consultative board will hold another meeting today.
Under the new schedule, the consultation board will brief executive
board members on the attack helicopter project on March 3. Following the
briefing the SSM executive board members will decide on which company
should be contracted, a move which has prompted the companies bidding to
intensify their lobbying activities in Ankara.
Companies bidding on the attack helicopter project have reportedly been
writing letters to Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit in an attempt to gain
his support. Previous advice from the Foreign Ministry prompted the
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to soften its policy on the export license
guarantee it has been seeking from foreign competitors in both attack
helicopters and main battle tank projects worth billions of dollars.
Instead the Turkish military is now seeking bidders who can provide
strong assurances that they will receive export clearance from their
governments. It appears that Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Edip
Baser, while on a recent official visit to the United States, could not
obtain a written statement from the Clinton administration guaranteeing
that if U.S. equipment is selected, there will be no delay in receiving
export clearance.
The five short-listed competitors in the helicopter project are:
Boeing's AH-64D Apache Longbow (United States), Bell
Helicopter-Textron's AH-1Z King Cobra (United States), Agusta's A129-I
(Italy), Eurocopter's Tiger (France) and Kamov's KA-50/52 (Russia).
There is speculation that the SSM executive board may announce a further
short list of two companies in a bid to negotiate a better price for the
program to supply a total of 145 helicopters. The value of the initial
batch of 50 helicopters is expected to reach $2 billion.
(Turkish Daily News, Lale Sariibrahimoglu).

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