Looking to improve its defense capability, Turkey has launched a tender for a stand-off jammer, an aircraft equipped with a jamming system. Several companies have proposed bids for the production of the plane.
The stand-off jammer will have the capability to paralyze air defense systems from a distance of 400 kilometers, an effective assistance in air raids. For instance, a jammer plane can render long-range, radar-guided missiles from the Syrian regime and S-300 missiles Greece deployed on the Aegean islands ineffective. The aircraft can jam radar, radio and phone systems effectively from a safe distance. Any long-range missile threat will be eliminated without the execution of the country's air defines systems, thanks to the airborne jammer. Warplanes escorted by the jammer aircraft essentially turn into "phantom" planes, as it makes their detection by enemy air defense impossible.
Currently, only Israel has the stand-off jammer in its military inventory. The project has been in the pipeline since 1999 and saw a revival in 2013 after the government ordered the Undersecretariat of Defense Industry, the top authority in the acquisition of the new military equipment, to resume the project.
Four companies including Turkey's ASELSAN, the main military contractor, as well as Duygu Aviation and Defense, Savronik and Tempus companies made their bids at the recently-held tender. Local contractors were prioritized for the acquisition of the plane.
Turkey had first announced plans to buy aircrafts with long-range jamming capacities in the late 1990s as well as several ground jammers.
The country aims to boost its defense capability further, as President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan recently announced. "We plan to eliminate external dependency on defense equipment supply with ongoing projects and investments by 2023. We will not allow the use of any ready defense equipment without our being involved from design to production," Erdoğan said.
Turkey is currently negotiating a $3.5 billion deal for a long-range air and anti-missile defense system, including local production, with suppliers from China and Europe. The country plans to spend around $70 billion on military equipment by 2023, when the country will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the founding of the modern republic.
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