Rapid Fire 2011-09-07: Turkey Suspends Defense Ties with Israel

• Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said yesterday to reporters in Ankara that after downgrading diplomatic ties with Israel, he is now suspending defense ties between the two countries. Turkey is also asking most Israeli diplomatic personnel to leave by tomorrow, including the IDF military attaché (or not, as of Wednesday reports were contradictory), after expelling the ambassador last week. Turkey has been seeking an apology from Israel over the death of 9 Turks during an IDF raid against a flotilla bound for Gaza last year. Cooperation on UAVs was already quite strained as of June last year.

• Russia signs a $4+ billion contract with state-controlled Oboronprom for 140 military helicopters by 2020, but there’s no breakdown on types. There is, however, confirmation that the 1st navalized Ka-52K Alligator attack/scout helicopter shipment for use on Russia’s new Mistral LHDs will finish by the end of 2012.

• The chinese Foreign Ministry says it will implement tighter export controls in the wake of the recent revelation that state-owned weapon manufacturers had been in recent talks with the Qaddafi regime. Last decade China started implementing legislation to align itself with MTCR members but so far fell short of the group’s standards.

• Meanwhile US primes are urging the Obama administration to allow large sales to foreign entities such as new F-16s for Taiwan (a decision left up in the air for years), and are seeking revisions to MTCR to ease UAS exports. Reuters via Aviation Week.

• South Korea’s Navy will be equipping its patrol boats with MBDA’s Mistral missiles. This will make them dangerous targets for any North Korean air attack, and the Mistrals can also be used to strike enemy boats. No luck against submarines, though, like the one that sank ROKS Cheonan.

• Britain’s Babcock has designed a decoy launcher that sits inside a submarine’s outer hull, but outside the inner pressure hull. This makes refits much easier for submarines that weren’t designed to carry torpedo countermeasures.

• Colombia’s narco-traffickers are operating submersibles and mini-submarines. Colombia’s Navy operates U209 boats, but can’t pay as well. You can guess what comes next.

• Deputy staff is starting to join the deficit Super Committee with, so far, people experienced in entitlement programs and the tax system. The Business Roundtable organized a forum yesterday to discuss and explain how this committee works (3-hour video).