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Turkey has been looking for a new amphibious assault ship for some time. The competition for an “LPD” began in 2010, and bids were requested in 2011, but it took until December 2013 for the SSM procurement agency to decide.
In December 2013, Turkey’s SSM procurement agency announced that the Defense Industry Executive Committee had directed them to begin contract negotiations with SEDEF Gemi Insaati AS, which is partnered with Navantia to offer the BPE/ Juan Carlos I Class design. If that fails, Turkey will look East…
Contracts & Key Events
Navantia’s Juan Carlos I Class LHD/ CVE can fly jets from its decks, and the 27,500t+ amphibious assault vessel would give Turkey a huge step up from its small LST landing ships. That will cause some consternation in Greece, Cyprus, and Israel, as the various parties jockey for position in the gas-rich Eastern Mediterranean.
The Juan Carlos/ BPE ships can carry almost 1,000 troops, and transport 150 vehicles including main battle tanks. A ski jump at the front of the deck can be used to launch fighter jets like the V/STOL AV-8 Harrier II, or the future F-35B Lightning II STOVL. Turkey is only a Tier 3 F-35 partner, but they’re expected to buy up to 100 planes. See Additional Readings for more details.
Turkey will become the 3rd operator of this ship type, after Spain and Australia.
Jan 3/14: Politics. Cihan’s ” points out a key wrinkle in the Turkish government’s LHD pick:
“RMK Marine, a subsidiary of Koç Holding, lost another contract in late September of 2013 as it was nearing the conclusion of negotiations with the SSM to build six warships for the MILGEM Project that were valued at around $2 billion…. The inspection office’s investigation of the MILGEM tender was initiated after being notified in early May by Sedef shipyard — which won the LPD project — that it had not been invited to participate in the tender. It is bizarre that Sedef filed a complaint in May last year, almost two years after the MILGEM tender was opened…. it is an open secret that MILGEM Project was taken from RMK Marine because Koç Holding came under government criticism for giving shelter to anti-government protesters during the summer at one of its ?stanbul hotels.
Against this backdrop there is a question about the way the LPD tender was concluded, given that the program itself does not appear to be a critical requirement for the military.”
Sources: Cihan, “Turkey’s problematic defense industry policy for military projects”.
Dec 26/13: Preferred bidder. Turkey’s SSM procurement agency announces that the Defense Industry Executive Committee has directed them to begin contract negotiations with SEDEF Gemi Insaati AS. Main construction would occur in Turkey, but Navantia expects about 878,000 man-hours of work between pre-fabrication, ancillary items like 4 LCM-1E landing craft and 2 smaller LCVPs; and imported technologies like the engines and propulsion system, and the integrated platform control system. The shipyards at Fene-Ferrol and San Fernando-Puerto Real would receive the lion’s share at about 800,000 man-hours, while Navantia Systems would receive about 50,000 man-hours, and the Fabrica de Motores engine factory about 28,000 man-hours.
Costs weren’t disclosed, but Australia’s program to build 2 ships of the same base class is budgeted at A$ 3 billion.
If negotiations fall through, the DIEC has named DESAN Deniz Insaat Sanayi AS as SSM’s alternative negotiating partner. DESAN reportedly worked with China Shipbuilding Industry Corporation initially, who produce the 28,000t Type 071 LPD amphibious ships. Subsequent reports indicate that they probably teamed with South Korean shipbuilders to offer the 18,000t Dokdo Class LHD instead.
Local firm RMK Marine, which was reportedly proposing an entirely new design of its own creation, is out of the running. A new design, from a firm that hadn’t built comparable ships before and didn’t have a global partner, would have been a huge risk. The question is why RMK took that risk, if reports are true. Reports had indicated an interest in this competition from a number of foreign firms, including France’s DCNS (Mistral Class) and Germany’s TKMS (LHD designed but not built). Sources: Turkish SSM, “Havuzlu Ç?karma Gemisi (LPD) Bas?n Bildirisi” | Navantia Twitter | Bosphorous Naval News blog, “Turkey Has Chosen Its New Dreadnought” | Defense News, “Turkey Selects Local Shipyard for LPD Contract” | Defense World, “Navantia To Build Turkish Warfare Ships” | Navy Recognition, “Turkey selects Navantia’s Juan Carlos LHD design as winner of its LPD tender”.
Additional Readings
* Navantia – LHD “Juan Carlos I” [PDF]. Despite its designation, it’s replacing Spain’s CVE Principe de Asturias carrier. The initial project, and export variants, have been referred to as the Buque de Proyeccion Estrategica (Strategic Power Projection Ship), or BPE.
* Armada Espanola – LHD “Juan Carlos I” (L-61)
* DID – Australia’s Canberra Class LHDs. Another BPE export variant, customized for Australia. These ships are built in Spain, but finished in Australia.
* DID – The Dokdo Class: an LHD for the ROK. The runner up, if negotiations fail; it’s only 2/3 the size of Navantia’s BPE.
News and Views
* Cihan (Jan 3/14) – Turkey’s problematic defense industry policy for military projects
* The Guardian (Jan 3/13) – Beneath Turkey’s turmoil is a bitter battle between two wounded men. The military is in between.
* The Telegraph op-ed (Dec 27/13) – Turkey first of Fed Taper victims as political crisis scares investors. What does the US Federal Reserve have to do with Turkey?
* Middle East Forum (Dec 27/13) – The End of Erdogan’s Cave of Wonders: An I-Told-You-So. Argues that Turkey’s economy faces serious economic shocks ahead, just as the Islamist political coalition behind the AKP is unraveling. Opinion is divided re: Turkey’s economic future, but if Asia Times’ “Spengler” is correct here, big-ticket defense items could be caught in the crunch.
