Korea Signs $400 Million Tank Deal With Turkey

South Korea has signed a contract regarding the transfer of tank development technology with Turkey, the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) announced Tuesday.

The deal, valued at $400 million, is the nation's second largest arms export after a $1-billion license deal over the indigenous K-9 self-propelled howitzer, again with Turkey in 2001.

Under the deal, South Korea will help Turkey develop a semi-indigenous main battle tank by 2015 through the transfer of its technology related to the design and development of K1A1 and XK2 tanks, Lee Jae-nam, senior vice president of Hyundai Rotem Company, the developer of the indigenous battle tanks, told reporters.

South Korea will transfer key technologies regarding engine, gunnery and snorkeling systems to Turkey, which initially wants to build about 250 advanced main battle tanks, said Lee.

Seoul will provide more than 60 percent of the technology required to build the Turkish tanks, he noted.

``This contract has a significant meaning, more than just arms sales, given we're exporting our state-of-the-art arms technologies,'' DAPA spokesman Kim Hyung-taek said. ``This means the Turkish government has recognized our capability and experience in terms of tank development, and our arms technologies have reached a top class level.''

The la-*test*-('") tank deal will also help further boost defense ties between Seoul and Ankara, he added.

Turkey is a major arms partner for South Korea. Last year, South Korea's state-run Korea Aerospace Industries signed a $350 million contract with Turkey to export 55 upgraded versions of the KT-1 Woongbi basic trainer.

The XK2, jointly built by the state-owned Agency for Defense Development and 20 other domestic manufacturers, bears an indigenous 120mm/50-caliber smoothbore gun, and is considered a peer of the U.S. M1A2 SEP and the French Leclerc tanks.

It can reach speeds of up to 70 kilometers per hour on surface roads and 50 kilometers per hour off-road with gun stabilization and can cross rivers as deep as 4.1 meters using a snorkel, a considerable improvement over the K1 and K1A1, with the ability to fire as soon as it resurfaces.

The main armament of the tank includes a 12.7mm K-6 heavy machine gun, a 7.62mm coaxial machine gun, and an indigenous 120mm/55-caliber smooth-bore gun with better muzzle velocity than the 120mm/44-caliber gun equipping a K1A1.

The tank is to be operational with the Army by 2010.

http://www.koreatimes.co.kr/www/news/natio.../116_28433.html

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The Turkish version:

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Altay, the first Turkish tank

user posted image

Turkey has pushed the button, initiating a project to produce the best tank in the world. The prototype of the new Turkish tank will be produced in 2014.

Altay, the new Turkish tank projected to be the best in the world, will be produced by Otokar, which is affiliated with Koç Holding in Sakarya, and will replace the old tanks used by Turkish Armed Forces. Erdoğan signed the Altay tank project yesterday.

Operation for the first national tank Altay starts

The agreement for the production of the first national tank to replace the old tanks used in Turkish Armed Forces, Altay, has been signed.

Altay will be produced as a result of a research and development of 78 months and will be able to do the job of the four tanks currently included in the inventory.

The first step to make Turkish Armed Forces the most powerful army of the region and to reduce its dependency to other countries has been taken. National tank project to increase mobility of the land forces has started. The ministry of defense has assigned Otokar of Koç Holding to produce first national tank, Altay. Nearly 600 research and development engineers will be working for the project which will cost $500 million.

http://english.sabah.com.tr/FDB1F2690C4440...CFF3570C83.html

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A good deal. For $400mln we buy the necesarry knowhow to build a whole tank we can call our own national product. I wonder how much royalties Greece has paid for the 2A6 for only license production (actually assembling kits)?

Always a measuring competition for you lately isn't it greekturkish/Rolls.gif

Let's get one thing straight..Turkey is becoming a smaller scale China...Turkopy instead of Chincopy.

QUOTE (Zeus @ July 31, 2008 06:37 am)

Always a measuring competition for you lately isn't it greekturkish/Rolls.gif

Let's get one thing straight..Turkey is becoming a smaller scale China...Turkopy instead of Chincopy.

And that is a bad thing I suppose?

QUOTE (Zeus @ July 31, 2008 04:37 pm)

Always a measuring competition for you lately isn't it greekturkish/Rolls.gif

Let's get one thing straight..Turkey is becoming a smaller scale China...Turkopy instead of Chincopy.

copy = indiginous in the Turkish dictionary.... greekturkish/bluebiggrin.gif

Re Deman,

A short question to you, how did Korea get the tech to build the K1 tank? You may call the K1 a copy of the M1A1, but still it was a Korean tank, no?

Whether yes or no, both are unimportant since the K1 brought Korea to the level of designing the K2, which is undeniable Korean.

Now you may talk whatever you think about the Turkish tank, it doesn't matter since we are going to get the technology. It is not a shame to follow Israel, Korea, China with "copies" to get our technology at levels Greeks can only dream of. greekturkish/wink kiss.gif

QUOTE (Nutuk @ July 31, 2008 12:54 pm)

Yes Nutuk... Of course Nutuk,,, Right Nutuk... All Turkey has to do is splash out $400 million (a miniscule amount) and it will produce the 'best tank in the world' - it's that easy!

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$400mln is only a part of development + tech transfer costs. Add to that the development costs for the FCS by Aselsan, development costs of the armor by Roketsan and some other minor costs you'll get a development cost of about $600mln. For that price we'll only get 4 prototypes!!!!
The cost of producing 250 tanks is an not even calculated yet (probably around $2bln)

Technology doesn't come for free or fall out of the sky.

QUOTE

Technology doesn't come for free or fall out of the sky.

In other words Turkey is incapable of producing its own and has resorted to buying a 'how to build a tank' kit from Korea.

Quite pathetic really...

Buying of assembling kits we left to Greece, we are a few steps further

QUOTE (Nutuk @ July 31, 2008 08:16 pm)

Buying of assembling kits we left to Greece, we are a few steps further

A few steps further? You mean like the Sabra comedy?

Unlike Turkey, Greece isn't rushing to develop a tank or create a self sufficient military, a point you miss entirely every time you make your stupid comparisons between Greek and Turkish defence industries...

The Sabra farce showed that Turkey doesn't have the resources to upgrade its old tanks let alone develop an indigenous tank, your intelligence services are too damn inept to 'liberate' military technology (though they are great at planting bombs to kill Turkish civilians and then blame it on the PKK (or starting forest fires in Greece)) so your generals bit the bullet, dug into the military's pocket and are buying an off-the-shelf Asian tank design.

When the first Altay rolls off the production line it will be as Turkish as a Mini Cooper and very far from 'the best tank in the world'.

'Indigenous' national tank, what a joke...

Sabra was indeed not the most splendid project we had, nonetheless part of a learning proces. You know pretty well that an indigenous defence industry is not so easy. It starts slow like a snowball, you need a lot of effort to get it in the desired shape but once it is rolling it can grow like hell.

A simple chart for you how the number of projects evolved in the years (and with the projects also the Turkish defence industry)
user posted image

Nobody is pretending we are at the level of Korea, but we have no doubt we'll get there. Our first national tank will only be semi-indigenous (like Korea's first tank K1A1), our second tank however...... greekturkish/bluebiggrin.gif

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Korea Agrees to Transfer of K-2 Tank Technology to Turkey

(Source: Korean Ministry of National Defense; issued July 30, 2008)

Minister of National Defense Lee Sang-Hee attends signing of contract on technology cooperation for development of Turkey's next-generation armored vehicle.

The technology of ROK's K-2 tank will be transferred to Turkey for the development of the country's next-generation Turkey National Main Battle Tank (TNMBT) by 2015.

The ROK-Turkey Tank Development Technology Cooperation Agreement was signed July 29 in a ceremony held in Turkey's Ankara, which was attended by Defense Minister Lee Sang-Hee and key officials of Turkey, including Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul, according to the Defense Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA). The agreement calls for technological cooperation between the two countries for the development of Turkey's next generation tank by April 2015.

The US$400 million deal includes the costs of producing four prototypes and fees for the transfer of technology. "It is significant in that we are not only exporting defense articles, but we are also exporting our advanced technology," the DAPA said. "This was made possible as the Turkish government recognized the superiority of our advanced technology accumulated from our abundant experience of developing and producing tanks, which also proves that our defense technology has come to one of the highest levels in the world."

Hyundai Rotem, which signed the technology cooperation deal with Turkey's Otokar Co., has been working on Turkey's tank development project as a technology advisor since 2006, along with the Agency for Defense Development (ADD). As the Turkish government recognized Hyundai Rotem's advanced technology, accumulated from its production of K-1, K1A1 and K-2 armored vehicles for the past 30 years, the company was named the primary bidder in June 2007, defeating a German competitor.

While noting the deal was made possible with the active and coordinated support of the DAPA, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the Army, the ADD and the military attache at the ROK Embassy in Turkey for defense exports, the Ministry of Defense praised the deal as a "first step" of the country's defense industry toward becoming a new source of power behind economic development.

Minister Lee said, "The relationship of the two brother nations of a 50-year blood alliance has now become, both in name and deed, an alliance of technology cooperation, in which the two share even the most advanced defense technology." "Let us continue to work together in the 21st century and beyond under a spirit that our two nations are tied by blood," he added.

"The Republic of Korea will continue to work with Turkey in the future to help modernize the Turkish military," the minister said. "I hope the cooperation between the two countries in the defense industry sector will leap from quantitative expansions to qualitative improvements through merger of their technology."

The signing of the contract on the ROK-Turkey technology cooperation in tank development is expected to greatly help boost the cooperation between the two countries in the defense industry sector, while the Ministry of Defense and the DAPA plan to provide full support to ensure smooth technology cooperation throughout the entire process of tank development from designing to production and -*test*-('")ing.

Meanwhile, Defense Minister Lee held ministerial talks with his Turkish counterpart in Ankara on July 28, in which the two agreed to continue building a cooperative relationship between their militaries. The meeting was held for 50 minutes from 10 a.m. (local time).

Lee proposed the two countries continue to build on their technological cooperation in the defense industry, saying, "The countries need to maintain a strategic cooperation in the defense industry sector by complementing each other's lack of technology and through joint development and joint production."

Turkey's Defense Minister Gonul, too, suggested the countries establish a system, through which they can "jointly purchase and develop defense systems through close cooperation." (ends)

National Tank Plan In Action

(Source: Turkish Daily News; issued July 30, 2008)

The Undersecretariat of Defense Industry yesterday assigned Otokar, a Koç Group subsidiary in automotive manufacturing of commercial and military vehicles, as the contractor of Turkey's “National Tank” project.

The project, which includes design, development and production, is expected to take six-and-a-half years, while the total estimated cost is nearly $500 million.

A project team, named Altay, will operate during the design, development and production process. Main contractor Otokar will receive technical support and know-how from subcontractors, Roketsan, Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation, or MKEK, Aselsan and Korean firm Hyundai-Rotem.

“We aim to create local added value and serve the Turkish Armed Forces,” Kudret Önen, board chairman of Otokar, said during the contract ceremony at the Otokar production facility in Adapazarı yesterday. “The Altay team has started a new period in Turkey's defense industry with this project,” he said.

Speaking at the ceremony, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the project “signifies the growth drive of Turkey's defense industry as one aiming to become world-class.”

“Many of the systems, which require high technology, will be developed by local engineers. That makes us proud,” Erdoğan said. “This project is also significant in the sense of exports.”

While the first product is set to be released after six-and-a-half years, Erdoğan found the duration too long. “I have urged Koç Group and their Korean partners, Hyundai Rotem to abbreviate the project duration through increasing shifts,” said Erdoğan.

Otokar is a unit of Turkey's biggest company, Koç Holding. Otokar shares were halted from trading on the Istanbul bourse and will resume trading today.

-ends-

http://www.defense-aerospace.com