timepass
Brigadier
Turkish Armed band celebrating Pakistan Defense day....23rd MAR....
now accelerating (LOL):
A senior US diplomat has threatened to use the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme as a retaliatory tool against Turkey for acquiring a sophisticated air defence system from Russia.
Assistant secretary of state for European and Eurasian Affairs Wess Mitchell’s remarks during 18 April hearing in Congress escalated a simmering confrontation with a NATO ally and combat partner against ISIS, which agreed to acquire the Almaz-Antey S-400 Triumf system even as it plans to take delivery of its first F-35A later this year.
Breaking from a string of ambiguous statements by the Trump Administration, Mitchell’s testimony made specific threats of potential retaliation if the Turkish government follows through on the acquisition of the S-400 system.
“Ankara claims to have agreed to purchase the Russian S-400 missile system, which could potentially lead to sanctions under section 231 of [countering America’s adversaries through sanctions act] and adversely impact Turkey’s participation in the F-35 programme,” Mitchell says.
The S-400 is Russia's most advanced surface-to-air missile system on the export market. It's advertised with an "anti-stealth range" up to 81nm (150km).
In the past, US officials have complained that Turkey's S-400 systems would not be interoperable with NATO's networks. But the acquisition also raised concerns that Turkey's possession of the S-400 and the F-35 could be used to compromise the latter, with Russia and its allies gaining invaluable intelligence.
It was not clear specifically how Turkey’s role in the F-35 programme could be affected, but the Trump Administration has several tools at its disposal.
Turkey joined the F-35 programme in 2002 as a level 3 partner, investing $195 million in the system development and demonstration phase. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is deeply involved in the F-35A supply chain, supplying composite parts since 2008. TAI also is a secondary source to Northrop Grumman for the centre fuselage, with a long-term agreement to supply 400 of the complex assemblies to Lockheed over the life the programme.
The Turkish air force, meanwhile, plans to acquire 100 F-35As. The first batch of 14 are already purchased, with deliveries scheduled to begin later this year. A total of 30 F-35As are scheduled for delivery to the TuAF by the end of 2022.
TrueDemonstration of Turkish MBT Altay . . .
The Altay is a modern main battle tank,
False. The Turks did receive some assistance in design but the K2 Black panther and Altay are night and day. This myth gets repeated. The Koreans did transfer tech for subsystems and the basis of the Main gun but Altay is manually loaded like an Abrams or a Leopard 2, as such Altay has a crew of 4 TC, Gunner, Driver and loader. Altay has 7 road wheels, Altay had a MTU 883 diesel engine how ever political issues forced the Turks to try for there own 1800 hp engine and when that failed a Ukrainian 6TD-3 turbocharged diesel engine, Turkish Volkan fire control systembased on the South Korean K2 Black Panther tank,
[/QUOTE]developed by Otokar, a subsidiary of Koç Holding, for the Turkish Army and export markets. It is named in honour of Army General Fahrettin Altay who commanded the 5th Cavalry Corps in the final stage of the Turkish War of Independence.
--> Specifications:
> Weight 65 tonnes (72 short tons; 64 long tons)
> Length 7.3 metres (24 ft) (hull), 10.3 metres (34 ft) (gun forward)
> Width 3.9 metres (13 ft)
> Height 2.6 metres (8.5 ft)
> Crew 4 (commander, gunner, loader, driver)
> Armor Roketsan composite armour
> Main armament Mkek120 mm 55 caliber smoothbore gun
> Secondary armament 1 × Aselsan STAMP/II 12.7 mm stabilized remote controlled turret 1 x 7.62 mm coaxial machine gun
> Engine Multi-fuel 1,500 hp (MTU) or 1,800 hp (local design)
> Suspension Hydropneumatic
> Operational range 500 kilometres (310 mi)
> Speed 70 km/h (43 mph) max.
--> List of Contributors to the Project:
> Otokar (main contractor)
> Aselsan (sub-systems and fire control system)
> MKEK (main gun system)
> Roketsan (armour package)
> Hyundai Rotem (technical support and assistance)