T-Loramids: Turkeys Curious Walk With Missile Contract to Chinese Company

Turkey has been negotiating with a Chinese firm, the China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corporation (CPMIEC), to co-produce a $3.44 billion long-range air and anti-missile defense system. This has not only strained Ankara’s relations with Washington, but also raised the question of whether the deal indicates an ideological or geopolitical shift in Turkey’s foreign policy and security aims. Although the Chinese option may indeed result in political repercussions for Turkey’s relations with the United States and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO), the decision itself was not motivated by ideological or geopolitical concerns. Rather, Turkey’s negotiations with Chinese defense contractors represent a purely instrumental and strategic decision for an aspiring regional power that has been seeking to bolster its own national defense industry since 1985.

Tension mounted between Turkey and the Transatlantic security community when Murad Bayar, Turkey’s undersecretary for the defense industry (SSM), announced on September 26 that Turkey had short-listed China’s FD-2000/HQ-9 surface-to-air missile (SAM) system to meet its six-year air defense project, titled T-Loramids. Turkey’s decision to start “contract negotiations” to purchase critical high-tech defense equipment from China created quite a surprise and discontent in the West, especially because in early 2013 Turkey received six NATO Patriot Missile batteries from the US, Germany and the Netherlands to help defend itself against possible missile attacks from Syria. Indeed, US and NATO officials have expressed “serious concern” over Turkey short-listing the Chinese company, emphasizing that the Chinese missile defense system would not be interoperable and compatible with NATO’s collective defense capabilities. Washington is also apparently displeased by the fact that the tender was awarded to a Chinese company under US sanctions for violating the embargo on defense technology exports to Iran, North Korea and Syria.

In an effort to reassure Turkey’s allies, SSM Bayar, who in his position is responsible for his country’s defense procurement, held a press conference on October 3. Bayar stressed that “full integration with NATO assets was an explicit condition in the contract for the planned air defense system,” and that “as part of this program, a Turkish defense company will be tasked with integrating the missile defense system into a network operated by the Turkish Air Force.” Thus, Turkey hopes the interoperability issue with Alliance assets will be settled.

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The question becomes....  

Is this a ploy to get the West to hand over more technology for the local industry?  Look!  You need to hurry or look what I'll do!  

Or is it a genuine shift? 

I'd be very, very shocked if the NATO allies, especially we Americans, allowed a Chinese system to be plugged into our defense network...