Turkey has frozen all negotiations on purchasing more Israeli-made unmanned air vehicles, but its current contract for the supply of Israel Aerospace Industries Heron systems will be completed, say sources close to deal.
Ankara's move to halt negotiations on future deals follows the Israeli navy operation to stop a flotilla of ships that sailed from Turkish ports from reaching Gaza with a cargo of humanitarian goods. Nine activists were killed during the operation, including Turkish nationals.
In 2007 IAI and Elbit Systems launched a joint programme to supply UAVs to the Turkish armed forces.
A $190 million contract was signed in May the same year between the Israel UAV Partnership and the Turkish defence ministry.
IAI manufactures Heron air vehicles under the pact, while Elbit supplies ground control stations.
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Deliveries fell behind schedule, with both two sides blaming each other for the delay. Earlier this year the problems were solved and five Heron systems have been delivered.
"The others are ready, and we hope that they will be delivered soon," says a senior Israeli source.
Meanwhile, the Israeli teams that trained Turkish army personnel to operate the Heron were ordered to leave the country because of security concerns.
The medium-altitude, long-endurance UAV can operate at a distance of more than 1,000km (540nm) and at altitudes above 25,000ft (7,620m) for more than 24h.
With automatic take-off and landing, integrated mission planning and a multi-payload configuration, the UAV provides deep-penetration capabilities.
Source: Flight International
