Germany's arms ban targets Turkey's war against Daesh
Diplomatic tension between Turkey and Germany that started after Germany banned Turkish ministers' rallies in Germany has started to affect other areas with a German government ban that prevents defense contractor Rheinmetall from shipping some products to Turkey. Although Germany is acting like a hostile state, Defense Minister Fikri Işık and defense experts underlined that Germany's ban will not have any negative effect on the Turkish armed forces and will not lead to vulnerability in Turkey's fight against Daesh.
Commenting on the issue, Defense Minister Işık called on Germany to act rationally while underlining that it's unacceptable for Turkey to accept this ban by a NATO ally, while PKK terrorists can easily get German weapons.
According to Minister Işık on March 24, "This ban will not have any negative effect on the mobility of the Turkish army. We already started indigenous projects to produce weapons and armed equipment banned by Germany."
Turkey, a NATO member country, is not facing Germany's ban on military exports for the first time. According to German government figures, the federal government rejected 11 individual arms shipments starting in November 2016, compared to only eight between 2010 and 2015. The most recent refusals involved weapons, ammunition and parts to manufacture certain armaments. "Yes, Germany has created some problems for us, but we are producing all the required weapons ourselves. There is a Turkish saying: ‘A bad neighbor makes you a possessor.' This is the only impact of the German ban," he added.
In line with Minister Işık's remarks, defense industry experts indicated that Germany's latest ban will not have any negative effect on the Turkish army and Turkey's ongoing fight against Daesh. "Germany is not the only producer of these systems for tanks. There are other countries like the U.S., Israel, Germany and Russia that produces similar systems," defense industry expert Arda Mevlütoğlu said.
Last August, Turkey started Operation Euphrates Shield against Daesh and has so far lost 10 tanks and armored vehicles. Thus, Turkey's armament procurement directorate (SSM) recently launched competitive bids to improve the protection and situational awareness capabilities of 200 of the main battle tanks in the army's inventory. Defense industry researcher Turan Oğuz drew attention to this and noted that Rheinmetall was only one of five companies bidding in this tender. "Obviously, other companies bid. In addition, German active protection systems are not used in any operational platforms yet," Oğuz said. Meanwhile, Mevlütoğlu pointed out that Israeli companies are the forerunners of these systems not the Germans. "Israel upgraded its tanks with an active protection system called Trophy, and this system successfully protects Israeli tanks against antitank ballistic missile attacks," he said.
Turkey is an active member of the anti-Daesh coalition, and since the beginning of Operation Euphrates Shield the country has liberated more than 2,000 square kilometers from Daesh inside Syria and killed more than 3,000 Daesh militants. Despite Turkey's intensified fight against Daesh last month, German Tornado fighter jets operating out of İncirlik Air Base in southern Turkey as part of the broader fight against Daesh militants has ruled out giving Turkey unfiltered access to imagery that gathered in their surveillance activities.
Commenting on the issue, Defense Minister Işık called on Germany to act rationally while underlining that it's unacceptable for Turkey to accept this ban by a NATO ally, while PKK terrorists can easily get German weapons.
According to Minister Işık on March 24, "This ban will not have any negative effect on the mobility of the Turkish army. We already started indigenous projects to produce weapons and armed equipment banned by Germany."
Turkey, a NATO member country, is not facing Germany's ban on military exports for the first time. According to German government figures, the federal government rejected 11 individual arms shipments starting in November 2016, compared to only eight between 2010 and 2015. The most recent refusals involved weapons, ammunition and parts to manufacture certain armaments. "Yes, Germany has created some problems for us, but we are producing all the required weapons ourselves. There is a Turkish saying: ‘A bad neighbor makes you a possessor.' This is the only impact of the German ban," he added.
In line with Minister Işık's remarks, defense industry experts indicated that Germany's latest ban will not have any negative effect on the Turkish army and Turkey's ongoing fight against Daesh. "Germany is not the only producer of these systems for tanks. There are other countries like the U.S., Israel, Germany and Russia that produces similar systems," defense industry expert Arda Mevlütoğlu said.
Last August, Turkey started Operation Euphrates Shield against Daesh and has so far lost 10 tanks and armored vehicles. Thus, Turkey's armament procurement directorate (SSM) recently launched competitive bids to improve the protection and situational awareness capabilities of 200 of the main battle tanks in the army's inventory. Defense industry researcher Turan Oğuz drew attention to this and noted that Rheinmetall was only one of five companies bidding in this tender. "Obviously, other companies bid. In addition, German active protection systems are not used in any operational platforms yet," Oğuz said. Meanwhile, Mevlütoğlu pointed out that Israeli companies are the forerunners of these systems not the Germans. "Israel upgraded its tanks with an active protection system called Trophy, and this system successfully protects Israeli tanks against antitank ballistic missile attacks," he said.
Turkey is an active member of the anti-Daesh coalition, and since the beginning of Operation Euphrates Shield the country has liberated more than 2,000 square kilometers from Daesh inside Syria and killed more than 3,000 Daesh militants. Despite Turkey's intensified fight against Daesh last month, German Tornado fighter jets operating out of İncirlik Air Base in southern Turkey as part of the broader fight against Daesh militants has ruled out giving Turkey unfiltered access to imagery that gathered in their surveillance activities.