Defense News ~ By BURAK EGE BEKDIL and UMIT ENGINSOY 12 Feb 2010: ANKARA - A batch of Heron UAVs produced for Turkey by Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems have passed critical performance tests in Israel, and Ankara is ready to accept the delivery of the drones, Turkey's top procurement official said Feb. 12.
The 4.5-ton Heron TP flies automatically in high-altitude safety for 60 hours at a stretch. (Israel Aerospace Industries)
"Six of the aircraft have successfully passed the tests inspected by a delegation of Turkish officials," said Murad Bayar, head of the government's defense procurement agency, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries. "We are expecting their deliveries in the weeks ahead. And this closes the deal from our point of view."
The remaining four UAVs in the program will undergo similar performance tests in the next few months.
Turkey and the Israeli team had been at odds over delays of more than two years in the delivery of the Herons. The dispute regarding the technical fulfillment of contract specifications was resolved after revisions in the original terms and conditions, Bayar said.
IAI and Elbit won the Turkish UAV contract in 2005 against U.S. rivals. But the program was dogged from the start by technical difficulties.
The contract was worth $183 million, of which about $50 million would go to Turkish subcontrators Turkish Aerospace Industries and Aselsan.
The Heron dispute in recent months contributed to a major deterioration in relations between Turkey and Israel. But a critical meeting between Turkish and Israeli defense ministers in late January paved the way for a degree of reconciliation.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government has been particularly critical of Israel's military offensive in Gaza in late 2008 and early 2009.
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