Turkey has signed a “cooperation agreement” with the French-Italian air defence consortium Eurosam, ostensibly for Eurosam’s Aster 30-based SAMP/T (short for Surface-to-Air Missile Platform/Terrain) long-range surface-to-air missile (SAM) system.
Turkey’s Minister of Defence announced the agreement at the French embassy’s Bastille Day reception in Ankara on Friday, July 14 (via Daily Sabah).
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Ankara had been negotiating with Eurosam for the SAMP/T since September with the aim of ushering a two-stage program: First, to import Aster 30 SAM systems to strengthen Turkey’s integrated air defence system (IADS). Second, to accrue technology from Eurosam and co-produce the Aster-30.
Defence Aerospace’s sources report that the agreement involves a “24-month definition phase funded by the Turkish government … [which] will immediate lead to the full-scale development phase … [for] late 2019 or early 2020 at the latest.” It adds that the SAMP/T is being sought in parallel to the S-400.
The centrepiece of the SAMP/T is the Aster 30, which was introduced in 1988. It has a range of more than 100 km and is deployable from land and from surface warships.
In 2016, Eurosam initiated the Aster 30 Block 1 New Technology (B1NT) program, which is tipped with a Ka-band active radar-homing seeker, which offers longer terminal-stage engagement range and enhanced angular resolution. Eurosam is positioning the B1NT for neutralizing anti-ship ballistic missiles.
Eurosam was competing with the Medium Extended Air Defence System (MEADS), a consortium made up of U.S., German and Italian companies. The core the MEADS is the PAC-3 MSE (Patriot Advanced Capability Missile Segment Enhancement).
Notes & Comments:
Although these are big-ticket off-the-shelf acquisitions, the Turkish Undersecretariat of Defence Industries (SSM) stated on several occasions that Turkey will have a homegrown long-range SAM system.
It is not known what impact the SAMP/T and S-400 will have on the Turkish SAM program, but the program seems to be of importance to the Turkish government. Turkey’s future anti-air warfare (AAW) frigate, the TF-2000, is also envisaged to use a domestic long-range SAM system.
Although speculation, it is possible that the co-production elements of the SAMP/T and/or S-400 could accompany targeted technical support for the Turkish SAM program.
