Posted on 07/10/2010 7:59:56 PM PDT by ErnstStavroBlofeld
The remaining four Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV) out of 10 Turkey ordered from Israel are expected to be delivered to Turkey in August.
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The first six UAV aircraft ordered from Israel were delivered to Turkey in March following a delay of over two years. The expected arrival of the Heron drones to Turkey comes in the midst of ongoing tension between Turkey and Israel, which came close to a breaking point on May 31 when Israeli commandoes killed eight Turkish citizens and one American aboard a humanitarian aid ship.
A delegate compromising Turkish civilian and military officials from the Defense Ministry and the General Staff have returned to Turkey to sort out the Heron mess. The remaining Herons will reportedly be delivered to Turkey in August.
Turkey had agreed in 2004 to buy 10 Heron UAVs for more than $180 million from Israeli companies IAI and Elbit.
However, the Israeli firms missed the deadline for delivery. Israel said the delay was caused by the difficulty in strengthening Heron engines to enable local Aselsan-made electro-optical payloads to be fitted onto the Heron UAVs. The Israeli companies were expected to deliver four Herons in August 2009, followed by another two and then the last four by the end of October 2009. However, this deadline was missed, and the Israeli Herons that were delivered failed to reach the predicted aerial elevations or to fulfill the maximum flight times specified in the agreement
(Excerpt) Read more at todayszaman.com ...
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