Amid PKK Operations, Turkish Air Force Buys Deterrence Weapons

WASHINGTON and ANKARA - The Turkish Air Force, whose main combat activity these days is the low-intensity, asymmetric battle against Kurdish separatists, sees no near-term threat of air-to-air combat. Still, its modernization efforts run largely to conventional weapons aimed at maximizing firepower and deterrence.
"Because of the PKK situation, the Air Force presently has an attack role in air-to-surface terms, and this is expected to remain in place as long as the PKK threat continues," one Ankara defense analyst said. "But in general, the Air Force strategy is designed to defend the homeland, and doesn't have a power projection agenda in its region."

Turkey's latest national security threat paper, published in 2006, portrays Iran and neighboring northern Iraq, where the separatist Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) is based, as potential threats, but says air-to-air combat is unlikely.
Greece, Turkey's NATO ally and former foe in the Aegean, also is seen as a distant but still possible threat. But the two neighbors' greatly improved ties over the past 10 years, and the fact that Greece is a member of the European Union, which Turkey hopes to join eventually, makes a sustained air conflict highly unlikely.
Turkey has a considerably strong Air Force in its region and attaches top priority to the modernization of its fighter fleets. It operates more than 210 F-16s and more than 140 older F-4Es and F-5s. Most of these aircraft already are under upgrade or modernization programs.
Under an agreement with the United States and Lockheed Martin, which leads an international consortium, Turkey plans to buy 100 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II aircraft worth some $11 billion after 2015. As a stopgap solution, the Air Force will receive within five years 30 Lockheed Martin F-16 Block 50 fighters worth more than $1.8 billion.
Most of Turkey's existing F-16s will continue flying well into the 2030s. Fifty-two of the Air Force's F-4Es have been modernized in cooperation with Israel. But earlier plans to modernize an additional 48 F-4E fighter-bombers were dropped to buy the new F-16s.
In addition to peacetime duties, the Air Force uses its fighter aircraft to attack PKK targets on Turkish territory and, with U.S. intelligence support since December, inside northern Iraq. In the foreseeable future, the Air Force's air-to-ground operations are expected to be its main warfare activity.
"In the case of an unlikely confrontation with Iran, Turkey relies on the superiority of its Air Force," the analyst said.
The Air Force mostly meets its need for air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions from the United States through Foreign Military Sales (FMS) deals, although there are increasing efforts to buy from domestic sources.

Non-Fighter Purchases

The main threat from Iran might be ground-to-ground missiles. As a result, the Air Force is seeking to boost its surface-based air defenses.
The Turkish Air Force recently has taken delivery of I-Hawk surface-to-air missile batteries from the United States through an FMS arrangement, replacing its obsolete Nike Hercules systems. Authorization also has been given to buy medium- and high-altitude air defense systems that could also shoot down tactical ballistic missiles, suggesting an upcoming competition between U.S. Patriot-based systems and Russian S-300s or S-400s.
In what Turkish officials call the war against PKK terrorism, Ankara says it lacks advanced UAVs. The military has a few UAVs, including some leased from Israel.
The Air Force expects to receive before the end of 2008 the first of 10 Heron UAV systems from Israel, but deliveries already have been delayed for more than a year. There also are plans for some locally made UAVs for the Air Force.
The Air Force's strategic reconnaissance will get a boost when the country selects the winner in its first military observation satellite program, called Gokturk. British, German and Italian companies are vying for the contract, worth more than $250 million. The satellite should be launched in 2011 or 2012.
Turkish officials see a planned acquisition of airborne early warning and control aircraft from Boeing as a major force multiplier for the Air Force. There is more than a two-year delay in deliveries, and the systems now are expected to begin entering service in 2009 or 2010. The planes also may assume NATO-related roles.
On transport capabilities, 13 C-130 aircraft are being modernized locally, and a gap to be left by the retirement of C-160s should be filled by the arrival of A400Ms in 2009 or 2010 under a joint European program.
Turkey has 10 planes on order. However, the C-130s are going through avionics modernization only, and the Air Force may consider replacement transport aircraft in the not-too-distant future, procurement officials said.

Pakistan Targets Air Combat Needs To Protect Air Defense, C2 Early in War

TAIPEI - The Pakistan Air Force (PAF) has not seen serious air combat since the 1965 and 1971 wars with India, but the ability to defeat a massive Indian assault on its air defenses early in a war remains its primary mission.
In 1965, Pakistan successfully trumped India in air combat, but it was ill-prepared for the 1971 conflict in which India dominated the skies. Fears of losing another war, much less a nuclear war, are unthinkable, and the PAF is modernizing its air interdiction, air surveillance and reconnaissance, command and control, and honing its air delivery skills for nuclear weapons.

Air interdiction is the PAF's primary mission, but it has not ignored retaliatory strike missions, said Haris Khan of the Pakdef Military Consortium. The PAF has expanded modernization efforts to include "nuclear weapons delivery, support of ground operations, fleet protection/maritime strike, and search and rescue are secondary," he said.
The PAF believes the Indian Air Force will launch a massive assault on Pakistan's air defense and command-and-control hubs during the first wave of a war, said A.B. Mahapatra, director of the New Delhi-based Centre for Asian Strategic Studies - India.
The Indian Air Force's primary mission is to neutralize Pakistan's nuclear option, he said.
"Thus, PAF is enhancing its air combat profile to encounter such future challenges," Mahapatra said.
The PAF's interdiction efforts include new and refurbished Lockheed Martin F-16s, now on order, and JF-17 Thunder fighters, built by Pakistan with Chinese assistance, now being manufactured.
In June 2006, the PAF ordered 18 F-16 C/D Block 52M fighters along with an option to procure another 18. A midlife upgrade will augment its existing fleet of 40 F-16 A/B Block 15s, along with buying 20 more F-16 A/B models via the Excessive Defense Articles program.
The F-16s will not be outfitted with nuclear weapons, but question marks remain for the JF-17. Known as the Chengdu J-10 Vigorous Dragon, the JF-17 will replace about 450 aging Nanchang A-5C Fantans, Dassault Mirage III/Vs and Chengdu F-7P Skybolts in the air-to-air combat and ground-support roles.
"The replacement will not be matched by an exact number, but initial reports indicate between 250 and 300 aircraft will be purchased by PAF," Khan said.
Khan said the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex is conducting flight evaluations of prototype aircraft "fitted with the Chinese-built NRIET KLJ-10 radar" and "Chinese-designed SD-10/PL-12 active-homing medium-range air-to-air missile."
The first 50 JF-17s will be outfitted with Chinese avionics, radar and missiles. But under an agreement with France in February, newer JF-17s will be outfitted with MBDA Mica air-to-air missiles and Thales RC 400 multimission radars.
The Russian-built RD-93 turbofan engine outfitting the JF-17 will have to be replaced due to pressure from India on Russia. Khan said the Chinese-built WS-13 Taishan engine is the most likely replacement.
There are unconfirmed reports, Khan said, that the PAF has ordered four aerial refueling tankers, possibly the Ukrainian-built Il-76.

Tentative UAV Plans

PAF also is improving its surveillance and reconnaissance capabilities.
"Pakistan uses UAVs for surveillance and is keen to augment the reconnaissance capabilities to a new height," with plans to procure up to 60 UAVs by 2010, Mahapatra said.
The Army has ordered the Luna short-range UAV from Germany and the Italian-built Galileo Falco UAV.
"An agreement was also signed in July of 2006 between the PAF and Turkey to jointly manufacture a UAV, which will meet the requirements of both air forces. The PAF UAV program is still in its adolescent stage, but they acknowledge the significance of the program for its future war plans," Khan said.
In April, the first of five Saab 2000 turboprop aircraft equipped with the Saab-Ericsson Erieye Airborne Early Warning & Command (AEW&C) system was rolled out during a ceremony in Sweden. Delivery to Pakistan is expected in mid-2009. Khan said there are discussions with China to co-develop an AEW&C aircraft designated as ZDK03 modeled on the Shaanxi Y-8F-400.
"PAF has mapped a very detailed and comprehensive plan for an early warning system to cover Pakistan's airspace with both airborne platforms and a ground-based radar network," he said.
Pakistan will integrate this plan with ground-based radar, including the U.S.-supplied AN/TPS-77 and Chinese-supplied JYL-1, JL3D-90A and JY-11 D air surveillance radars.
Khan points to other efforts, including a 2006 test of the Czech Vera passive radar system and an order for a number of MBDA Aspide/Spada 2000 low- to medium-altitude air defense batteries.
"These missiles are supposed to replace Thales Defence Systems Crotale. PAF is actively looking to purchase a high-altitude missile air defense system," with the Chinese-built FT-2000 as the front-runner, Khan said.
In the 1965 and 1971 wars with India, Pakistan successfully attacked ground targets, including high-value targets, within 200 miles of Pakistan's border.
Khan said in any future conflict with India, "I believe PAF will employ similar tactics," but with more intensity on high-value targets.
"PAF would, in the first instance, be tasked with countering India's planned advance into Pakistani territory by seeking to prevent the Indian Air Force from achieving local tactical air superiority," he said. "At the same time, it would be required to strike surface-to-surface missile launchers, if these can be identified. It would also be called upon to provide air cover for the strike corps in their limited advance to occupy Indian territory."

USAF Tanker Award Set for 5:10 p.m. ET

U.S. Deputy Defense Secretary William Lynn, Pentagon procurement czar Ashton Carter, Air Force Secretary Michael Donley and Air Force Chief Gen. Norton Schwartz are to announce the winner of the U.S. Air Force's long-running KC-X tanker contract at 5:10 p.m.

EADS's Airbus A330, top, and Boeing's 767, below, are competing for the $35 billion U.S. Air Force KC-X contract. (EADS, Boeing)

flash goes hereEADS's Airbus A330 and Boeing's 767 are in an epic dogfight to supply the Air Force with 179 tankers for a total value that could amount to $35 billion.

Mullen: US to continue anti-piracy efforts

CAMP LEMONIER, Djibouti (AFP) - The United States will remain involved in the anti-piracy campaign off the Somali coast despite the killing of four Americans by Somali pirates, the top U.S. military officer Thursday.
"There's an international focus on this and rightfully so we'll continue to pursue it," said Admiral Mike Mullen, chairman of the U.S. Joint Chiefs of Staff during a visit to Djibouti, home to the only U.S. military base in Africa.

On Monday, the U.S. military said Somali pirates killed four Americans on a yacht they had captured last week. The four had been sailing from India when they were seized.
The pirates have become more sophisticated and prowl the vast Indian Ocean to distance of up to 1,500 nautical miles from the war-torn Horn of Africa state.
Mullen said the more than 30 warships involved in the anti-piracy drive underscored the "significance of the challenge [of piracy] and also the priority in terms of focus."
Despite the presence of the foreign navies, Somali pirates have continued to hijack vessels, and last year they seized 53 ships and took 1,181 seamen hostage, according to the International Maritime Bureau.
Mullen said hunting down the sea bandits in such vast waters was like seaching for a "needle in a haystack."
The small Red Sea state of Djibouti also hosts a French military base. It also serves as a launching base for U.S. drone attacks against Al Qaeda according to security information website Globalsecurity.org.

Pakistan, China to Hold Joint Military Exercises in 2011

Pakistan and China will hold two joint military exercises in 2011, a Pakistani senior military leader said Tuesday.



The two exercises, one army drill and one air force one, will be held to celebrate the 60th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic ties between Pakistan and China, said General Khalid Shameem Wynne, chairman of Pakistan's Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee.

Wynne, who is paying a five-day visit to China, told reporters that the two countries will also participate in a multinational navy drill in March.

Wynne hailed the strategic partnership between Pakistan and China, saying it is "the best example" of bilateral ties and a "stabilizing force" in the region.

"The China-Pakistan partnership is a source of comfort and stability for the entire region," Wynne said.

The visit is Wynne's first official visit to China since he was promoted to the rank of general and assumed his present position in October 2010.

In July 2010, Wynne led a joint anti-terrorism drill between Pakistan and China in Qingtongxia in northwest China's Ningxia Hui Autonomous Region.

Afghanistan Seeks U.S. Help Post-2014

WASHINGTON - Afghanistan on Feb. 23 appealed for the United States to provide security assistance beyond 2014, the date by which President Barack Obama wants to withdraw U.S. combat troops.

U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert Gates, right, and Ambassador Earl Anthony Wayne, left, listen Feb. 23 as they meet with Defense Minister of Afghanistan Abdul Rahim Wardak at the Pentagon. (Alex Wong / Getty Images)

Afghan Defense Minister Abdul Rahim Wardak was holding talks at the Pentagon to look at future relations, despite recent tensions between the two governments over civilian deaths in the NATO-led campaign against the Taliban.

"We do strongly believe that for Afghanistan to be able to survive in that very volatile region, it will need your help beyond 2014," Wardak said at the start of a meeting with U.S. Defense Secretary Robert Gates.
Wardak saluted the nearly 1,500 U.S. troops who have died in America's longest war, which was launched in 2001 to root out al-Qaeda extremists responsible for the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States.
"We should be extremely grateful for all the sacrifices which your sons and daughters have given," Wardak said.
Gates said that such meetings on future security relations would take place twice annually between the two countries, with one session each year involving the U.S. defense secretary.
Gates hoped that the forum would lay "an enduring foundation for our partnership well beyond 2014."
The meetings should "demonstrate to others in the region and to our own people, in concrete terms, that together we are putting Afghanistan on a path towards stability and security," Gates said.
Opinion polls show dwindling U.S. public support for the war in Afghanistan, with many in the public questioning the continued human and financial toll nearly a decade after troops were first deployed.
Obama has poured more troops into Afghanistan but said that he will start pulling them out in July this year. However, the administration has recently shifted focus and emphasized 2014 as the date by which U.S. troops will leave.
The Obama administration has repeatedly said that the United States will remain committed to assisting Afghanistan in 2014, even if the military component winds down.

Russia Outlines 10-Year $640B Buying Plans

MOSCOW - Russian officials have revealed a few details about Moscow's $640 billion effort to bring 80 percent of the military's arsenal up to modern standards by 2020.
The defense ministry will buy about 600 airplanes and more than 1,000 helicopters, Vladimir Popovkin, the first deputy defense minister in charge of arms procurement, told reporters Feb. 24. About 100 helicopters will be purchased this year, Popovkin said.

The Navy should receive about 100 new vessels, including 35 corvettes, 15 frigates and 20 submarines. Of the submarines, eight should be of the nuclear Borei class, carrying Bulava multiwarhead naval intercontinental ballistic missiles that the ministry plans to commission later this year after additional tests.
The ministry will fund the development of a new liquid-fuel heavy intercontinental ballistic missile, to replace aging RS-18 Stilleto (SS-19 NATO codename) and RS-20 Satan (SS-18 NATO codename), Popovkin said. Such missiles can carry up to 10 warheads, he said, while solid fuel missiles, such as Topol, can carry maximum three warheads.
Russia will buy 10 batteries of the advanced S-500 anti-missile and anti-aircraft defense missiles, expected to be put in service in 2014, as well as 56 S-400 missile batteries.
Ten percent of the money, or about $64 billion, will be spent on developing new weaponry, Popovkin sai. This means nearly tripling annual spending on the research and design, he said.
The program envisages the procurement of two Mistral aircraft carriers, in addition to the two that Russia is buying from France, as well as Iveco light multirole vehicles from Italy. The military does not plan massive procurement of the foreign-made weapons, though small batches of drones, sniper guns and French-made Felin infantry combat suits will be bought by the Russian Armed Forces, Popovich said.
Seventy percent of the money under the program is supposed to be spent after 2015, he said.
The government will lend $24 billion to defense companies to help them prepare for bigger contracts after 2015.

AUSA: Protecting End Strength Runs Risks, Says Chiarelli

FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The U.S. Army needs to maintain a force that it can afford to equip, Gen. Peter Chiarelli, the Army's vice chief of staff, said here at a conference hosted by the Association of the U.S. Army.
"I believe we've got to have a balance in our equipment accounts and our personnel accounts to make sure that we have an Army that we need, but that Army must be well-equipped," Chiarelli told the audience Feb. 23.

The Army's active force is at 570,000, which includes 22,000 soldiers allowed under a temporary end strength increase.
The Army will reduce the force back to 547,000 over an 18-month period that begins in the middle of 2012.
"That is all enlisted soldiers; it is not officers," Chiarelli said. "Some of it will be done through attrition; some of it will be done through quality points."
In January, Defense Secretary Robert Gates announced the Army would cut an additional 27,000 soldiers from the force beginning in 2015.
Chiarelli said that for this drawdown, Gates laid out three assumptions: The Army leaves Iraq, there is a significant drawdown of U.S. forces in Afghanistan between now and 2014, and there are no additional contingencies requiring a large number of ground forces.
"I would add a fourth, and that fourth is that we have the right access we need to the reserve components," Chiarelli said. "We absolutely have to have an operationalized reserve."
That means Reserve forces that deploy for a year and are at home for four to five years in between, Chiarelli said.
"If all of those assumptions prove to be correct, I think it is prudent at this time to do the planning, and [Army Chief of Staff Gen. George Casey] calls it 'reversible planning' and I like that term, to take the force down to 520,000," Chiarelli said.
Lt. Gen. Thomas Bostick, deputy chief of staff for personnel (G-1), is leading that planning and conducting the analysis to figure out how best to reduce the force.
If those four assumptions do not come true, Casey feels very strongly that he can go back to Gates and discuss the reduction of 27,000 troops, Chiarelli said.
However, Casey's term as chief comes to an end this spring, and it's unlikely Gates will still be the defense secretary when these decisions will have to be made.
In the past, the Army has done whatever it can to protect end strength, including robbing equipment accounts, Chiarelli said.
"I happen to believe that there are certain folks who feel the Army's end strength should be such, and if we were to protect that strength at the cost of equipping accounts, in the end we'd end up with a much smaller Army, poorly equipped," he said.
The reason, he said, is because someone could always come in after the Army robs its equipment accounts to protect its size and cut force structure anyway.
In addition to keeping personnel and equipment accounts in relative balance, the Army needs to stop the yearly increase in costs in its personnel accounts, Chiarelli said.
Right now, those accounts grow at a rate of 1.4 percent a year, Chiarelli noted, saying that is a "significant" number across the multiyear spending plan.

U.S. Air Force Tanker Award Expected Feb. 24

WASHINGTON - The U.S. Defense Department is expected to announce Feb. 24 the winner of a $35 billion Air Force aerial refueling tanker contract fought over by Boeing and European rival EADS for nearly a decade.
Congressional aides told AFP the award of one of the biggest procurement contracts in U.S. history would come Feb. 24.

The Pentagon declined to comment on the matter.
The Defense Department is seeking to replace 179 tankers in an aging U.S. Air Force fleet of Boeing KC-135s that date back to the 1950s.
In the high-stakes, politically charged battle, U.S. aerospace giant Boeing and the European Aeronautic Defence and Space Company, parent of France-based Airbus, delivered their final bids by last Friday's deadline.
EADS is looking like the favorite to land the contract, said Loren Thompson, an analyst at the Lexington Institute think-tank based just outside the U.S. capital.
"Judging from the frequency with which Pentagon acquisition chief Ashton Carter has been talking up the notion of a 'globalized' defense market recently, European aerospace giant EADS is the winner," Thompson said in an online blog.
Thompson said the Air Force would announce the winner Feb. 24 after the financial markets close.
The first time the contract was awarded, it went to Boeing, but it was subsequently canceled amid a Pentagon procurement scandal.
EADS won the contract in 2008 along with U.S. partner Northrop Grumman, but the decision was withdrawn after the Government Accountability Office upheld Boeing's objections that the process was flawed.
EADS is now competing without a main partner, but with support from a number of U.S. equipment makers.
EADS North America chairman Ralph Crosby said last week the firm had lowered the price of its final bid to a "very competitive price proposal."
Boeing's chief executive Jim McNerney earlier described his firm's bid as an "aggressive" attempt to beat its "subsidized" European rival.
This third attempt is marked by fierce lobbying from lawmakers seeking jobs in their states - for Boeing, in Washington state and Kansas; for Airbus, in Alabama - with the added dimension of a long-running trade dispute between the United States and the European Union at the World Trade Organization over public subsidies for Boeing and Airbus.
The Defense Department insists the winner will be decided on the merits of its bid.
Thompson cautioned that the Pentagon announcement may not close the book on the matter.
"Boeing could challenge the rating methodology and several other facets of the selection process, but since price is the key discriminator in the outcome, it is more likely to pursue a political strategy focusing on EADS use of prohibited trade subsidies in developing and marketing its planes," he said.
The rivals are offering militarized versions of their commercial aircraft and promising the contract would add tens of thousands of jobs to the post-recession U.S. economy still struggling with high unemployment.
The EADS KC-45 is based on the long-haul Airbus 330. EADS says it has 31 percent more capacity and a longer range than Boeing's offer, the KC-767.
It would be assembled in Mobile, Alabama, where EADS expects to produce at least 12 aircraft a year and says the program would create 48,000 jobs.
Representatives of Mobile area organizations, including city and county officials, plan to gather at the Mobile Convention Center to await the expected announcement and have scheduled a news conference, county official Peter Albrecht told AFP.
Boeing spokespersons were not immediately available to comment on the looming announcement.
Boeing is proposing the KC-767, or NewGen Tanker, built around its long-haul 767 plane. The bigger Boeing plane would be assembled in Everett, Washington, and equipped in Wichita, Kansas. Boeing says a win would provide 50,000 jobs.

New Shipyard's Board of Directors Named

Six prospective board members of the new shipyard to be formed from Northrop Grumman were named Feb. 22 in an internal company memo.
The six members include a former deputy chief of naval operations (CNO) and the former head of Newport News Shipbuilding.

The proposed Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII) would be spun off from the existing shipyards of Northrop Grumman, and would include the yards at Newport News, Va., Pascagoula, Miss., and New Orleans, La. Northrop has put the yards up for sale as a single entity, but also is moving ahead with plans to spin them off as HII should a satisfactory buyer fail to emerge.
The prospective board members were named in a memo from current Northrop shipbuilding head Mike Petters, who would also stay on as HII's head of shipbuilding. A copy of the memo was obtained by Defense News.
The six are:
■ Paul D. Miller, a retired U.S. Navy admiral who left the service in 1994 after serving as the deputy CNO and as the head of the U.S. Atlantic Command. From 1999 to 2005 he was chairman and chief executive officer for Alliant Techsystems, an aerospace and defense company.
■ Tom Schievelbein, lead director of New York Life Insurance Co. and Petters' predecessor as head of the Newport News shipyard from 2001 to 2004.
■ Robert Bruner, dean of the Darden Graduate School of Business Administration at the University of Virginia.
■ Artur Davis, a partner at the law firm SNR Denton, who served from 2003 to 2011 as the Democratic representative to Congress from Alabama's Seventh Congressional District.
■ Anastasia Kelly, a partner at the law firm of DLA Piper and, from 2006 to 2010, an executive vice president and general counsel with American International Group (AIG).
■ Karl von der Heyden, co-chairman of the American Academy in Berlin, Germany and, from 1996 to 2001, vice chairman of the board of directors of PepsiCo Inc.
Retired U.S. Navy admiral Thomas B. Fargo was named in November as HII's prospective non-executive chairman of the board.
No timetable has been publicly announced for the proposed spinoff, but, barring any major obstacles, it is expected to take place around April.

China Pledges Effort to Revive Stalled Nuke Talks

SEOUL - China will work to revive stalled talks on North Korea's nuclear disarmament and to maintain peace on the Korean peninsula, Foreign Minister Yang Jiechi said Feb. 23 during a visit to South Korea.
But Yang, in comments before he began private talks with his counterpart Kim Sung-Hwan, did not mention the North's uranium enrichment program, which has sparked international concern.

China will seek an early resumption of the talks "to realize denuclearization of the Korean peninsula and normalization of relations between related countries", Yang said.
The talks, which group the two Koreas, the United States, China, Japan and Russia, have been stalled since December 2008. The North abandoned them in April 2009 and conducted a second nuclear test a month later.
Seoul, Washington and Tokyo say Pyongyang should improve inter-Korean ties before the nuclear dialogue can resume.
Yang said China would work with other countries including South Korea "to pursue peace, stability and development" on the peninsula.
His visit was originally scheduled for last November but was postponed after the North's deadly shelling of a South Korean border island.
China's failure publicly to condemn the North for that attack sparked irritation in Seoul, as did its refusal to identify the North as the culprit in the sinking of a South Korean warship last March.
Minister Kim said some South Koreans "raised concerns about our bilateral relationship" following the two incidents, but that ties had improved.
South Korean officials said earlier they expected the ministers to discuss the North's uranium program.
The nuclear-armed North last November disclosed an apparently operational uranium enrichment plant to visiting U.S. experts, giving it a potential second way of making atomic bombs.
Pyongyang claims the program is for peaceful energy development but experts say it could easily be converted to produce weapons-grade uranium.
Japan and South Korea have urged the United Nations Security Council to take up the issue with a view to possible punishment.
China opposes taking the issue to the world body even though President Hu Jintao has expressed concern at reports of the program.
China has warned its Security Council partners that it intends to block publication of a report on the subject, a diplomat at the United Nations told AFP last week.
The report says the North almost certainly has at least one other undisclosed enrichment-related facility and describes the uranium program as a serious violation of U.N. sanctions.
Beijing insists on the issue being discussed when six-party talks are revived.
President Lee Myung-Bak urged China to play a "constructive role" in resolving the nuclear crisis when he met Yang later, according to the presidential office.
Lee also stressed that a genuine change in North Korea's attitude is necessary for peace on the peninsula, it said.
Yang reportedly reaffirmed Beijing's objections to Pyongyang's nuclear weapons development and expressed hope inter-Korean relations would improve.

Turk Armor Maker Wins $600M Deal in Malaysia

ANKARA - Turkish armored vehicles manufacturer FNSS, based here, has sealed a $600 million contract with a Malaysian partner for the sale of the Pars, its wheeled armored vehicle, officials here announced. This is the largest contract a Turkish company has won abroad.
Under the deal, FNSS will design, develop, manufacture and supply logistical support for the Pars, according to Nail Kurt, the company's general manager. FNSS' Malaysian partner, DEFTECH, will locally assemble the 257 vehicles under contract.

The agreement was signed here Feb. 22 on the sidelines of Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak's official visit to Turkey. "We have decided to raise our relationship to a strategic level," Razak told reporters in the Turkish capital.
Malaysia will be the first country where the Pars will enter service. The vehicle will come in four-, six- and eight-wheel types.
Earlier, FNSS sold to Malaysia other armored vehicles worth about $300 million. The company also hopes to sell the Pars to the Turkish army.
Turkish industrial conglomerate Nurol Holding owns 51 percent of FNSS while the remaining 49 percent is held by the American company UDLP. Since the late 1980s, FNSS has sold to the Turkish military thousands of mostly tracked vehicles.

Development of Improved Indian Arjun Complete: DRDO

NEW DELHI - India's state-owned Defence Research and Development Organization (DRDO) claims that it has completed upgrades on the Arjun tank, replacing existing German engines and transmission systems with homemade systems.
The Mark-II Arjun will incorporate up to 90 percent of indigenous content, compared with 58 percent in the current model, a DRDO scientist said, and should be ready for induction by 2014.

The Mark-II also will feature superior missile-firing capabilities, the scientist added.
Conceived in 1973, the Arjun tank was behind schedule by more than 15 years, resulting in the Indian Army choosing the Russian T-90 tank as its main battle tank. The Arjun had to go through a series of trials and retrials before the Army announced the tank fit for duty. Last year, the Arjun Mark-I had to be put on comparative trials against the Russian T-90, after which the Indian Army finally concluded that the Arjun tank performed to expectations.
Earlier, the Arjun faced problems concerning its fire control system and suspension, and its weight-restricted mobility.
Last year, the Indian Army ordered an additional 124 tanks, bringing the total to 248.

Indian Firms Push for More Flexibility in JVs

BANGALORE - Indian defense companies want the country's Defence Ministry to allow foreign companies to own more than 26 percent of joint ventures with domestic firms. They say this limitation is straining existing arrangements and undermining efforts to forge new ones.
But ministry officials are holding firm.

Related Topics

• Asia & Pacific Rim
• Air Warfare

In 2008, state-owned Bharat Electronics Ltd. (BEL) and Rafael of Israel declared their intention to create a joint venture to develop missile electronics. The deal was meant to help Rafael meet its offset requirements for exports to India.
Now, Rafael may pull out unless it can own more 26 percent of the venture, said H.N. Ramakrishna, BEL's marketing director.
Lova Drori, Rafael's executive vice president for marketing, said Rafael would prefer to tie up with a non-state-owned company so that BEL does not obtain more than 50 percent ownership.
The Defence Ministry has refused a request to ease the limit, ministry sources said.
An executive with the domestic industries lobbying agency, the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII), said that without an increase in the limit, no major overseas defense company would be likely to tie up with Indian entities in defense. The executive said that even India's Commerce Ministry favors increasing the limit to more than 50 percent.
A senior Commerce Ministry said that the ministry wants to raise the current limit.
One Defence Ministry official noted that the ministry sometimes grants waivers to the 26 percent limit. He cited the effort by Rafael and the ministry's Defence Research and Development Organisation (DRDO) to develop the Medium Range Surface to Air Missile, in which Rafael received a 50 percent stake.
The official also cited the Indo-Russian development of the Fifth Generation Fighter Aircraft (FGFA), in which Russia received a 50 percent stake.
But some deals do not receive such waivers.
In 2009, India's domestic automobile giant, Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd., part of the $6.3 billion Mahindra Group, formed a joint venture with Britain's BAE Systems, which accepted a 26 percent stake, Defence Ministry sources said.
Last year, the Indian government rejected a plan by EADS and Indian engineering giant Larsen & Toubro to manufacture electronic warfare systems, radar instruments and avionics. EADS was to receive 49 percent equity. The companies are drafting a new plan.

KMW To Repair Mercedes-Benz Trucks

BONN - Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Daimler AG signed a service framework contract Feb. 21 for the maintenance and repair of Mercedes-Benz trucks and G-type SUVs on international deployments by the German military and its allies.
The Munich-based company is to provide technical support for all Daimler military vehicles deployed on international missions carried out by NATO, the EU and the United Nations.

KMW already maintains and repairs armored wheeled and tracked vehicles in crisis regions. For this, it has a network of its own service personnel and repair facilities at allied camps in Afghanistan and Kosovo.
In addition to providing experts and workshops in the field, KMW's service in deployment regions includes a worldwide logistics system for spare parts. Also, technical specialists from the Munich service center can be directly connected to the field via satellite and the company's own telemaintenance system.