Turkey: Putin’s Ally in NATO?

Turkey has NATO’s second biggest army, and its military love affair with Russia may be in its infancy now, but it undermines NATO’s military deterrence against Russia. Pictured: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan meets with Russian President Vladimir Putin in Moscow, on March 10, 2017. (Image source: kremlin.ru)

 

• On March 7, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Turkey would never turn back from the S-400 missile deal with Russia. He even added that Ankara may subsequently look into buying the more advanced S-500 systems now under construction in Russia.
• With the S-400 deal, Turkey is simply telling its theoretical Western allies that it views “them,” and “not Russia,” as a security threat. Given that Russia is widely considered a security threat to NATO, Turkey’s odd-one-out position inevitably calls for questioning its official NATO identity.
• Turkey has NATO’s second biggest army, and its military love affair with Russia may be in its infancy now, but it undermines NATO’s military deterrence against Russia.

On September 17, 1950, more than 68 years ago, the first Turkish brigade left the port of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast, arriving, 26 days later, at Busan in Korea. Turkey was the first country, after the United States, to answer the United Nations’ call for military aid to South Korea after the North attacked that year. Turkey sent four brigades (a total of 21,212 soldiers) to a country that is 7,785 km away. By the end of the Korean War, Turkey had lost 741 soldiers killed in action. The U.N. Memorial Cemetery in Busan embraces 462 Turkish soldiers.

“We Aren’t Slaves”: Erdogan Says Russian S-400s A “Done Deal”, Hints At Future S-500 Upgrade

S-500 Air Defense System, which Erdogan said Turkey could upgrade to in the future, in defiance on Washington. Image via Military and Commercial Technology blog

 

“This is over” — President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said this week as US Congress continues discussion and debate on holding up delivery of Lockheed-produced F-35 stealth jets purchased previously by Turkey due to Ankara’s intent to receive Russian S-400 anti-air defense systems from Russia.

Turkey To Receive Russian S-400 Delivery in July, Rejects US Patriot Systems Offer

US Army’s Patriot Surface-to-Air missile system

 

Turkey is now venting its wrath as its F-35 standoff with Washington is thrust to the next level, and after Friday President Trump signed a spending bill that blocks further F-35 transfers until November 1st of 2019, which gives the White House a window of time to evaluate if Ankara will indeed move forward with transfer of Russia’s S-400 air defense system to Turkey. Amidst the Pastor Andrew Brunson detention affair which drew widespread media attention last summer Congressional leaders demanded that the over 100 Lockheed Martin-made F-35 stealth jets purchased by Turkey be blocked from delivery. Following Brunson’s release, the bigger security issue became Turkey’s seeking the S-400.

France and Germany Team Up for New Fighter Jet

French Defence Minister Florence Parly, German Defence Minister Ursula von der Leyen and Safran Chairman of the Board Ross McInnes , visit the French high-technology group Safran plant in Genneviliers, near Paris, on February 6, 2019, during the inauguration of a construction platform as part of the French-German FCAS (Future Combat Air System). (THOMAS SAMSON/AFP/Getty Images)

 

Working together on advanced military capabilities strengthens the prophesied Franco-German alliance.

French Defense Minister Florence Parly and German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen announced on February 6 that France and Germany will sign a €65 million (us$73.5 million) deal to proceed with a project to produce a joint stealth fighter jet.

“What we are doing today with the Franco-German fighter jet of the future is concrete, balanced, makes us stronger, and prepares for the defense of Europe,” wrote Parly.

Japan Returns to Militarism

 

On December 11 Japan’s Kyodo News Agency reported that “Japan plans to effectively upgrade its helicopter carriers to enable them to transport and launch fighter jets.” Concurrently the Indian Ministry of Defence noted that in the course of a large exercise being held in India by the US and Indian air forces, “two military pilots from Japan are also taking part in the exercise as observers.” There was also a Reuter’s account of Tokyo’s plans “to boost defence spending over the next five years to help pay for new stealth fighters and other advanced US military equipment.”

Report Details China’s ‘Informatized’ Military Expansion

Chinese People’s Liberation Army troops practice marching as they arrive at Tiananmen Gate for a military parade on Sept. 3, 2015 in Beijing, China. (Andy Wong/Getty Images)

 

China’s economic advancement is allowing it to develop a powerful, and threatening military force

China’s People Liberation Army (PLA) has expanded significantly under Chinese leader Xi Jinping, who demands for the Chinese military to be “accelerating toward informatization.” The annual Department of Defense report regarding China detailed the PLA’s recent developments.

Xi says that now is a “period of strategic opportunity,” while military officials set the objective of winning “informatized local wars.” The word “informatize” is similar to the word “industrialize,” means that all aspects of warfare must be computerized.

Russia “Accidentally” Exposes Model Of Hypersonic 6th-Generation Fighter Jet

 

 

Russia’s newest Su-57 fifth-generation stealth fighter jet has certainly made numerous headlines as a direct challenger to America’s F-22 and or F-35 combat planes. Now, it seems Russia is outlining its path to develop a sixth-generation fighter, according to media reports.

The new combat jets will be hypersonic; the first flight is scheduled for the mid-2020s. This was reported in June 2016 by TASS, citing the head of the Directorate of military aircraft programs, the United Aircraft Corporation (UAC) Vladimir Mikhailov. “The [prototype] rise into the air, as we plan, no later than two or three years after 2020”, said Mikhailov. UAC plans to fly a hypersonic sixth-generation fighter before 2025. Mikhailov stated the program for the jet is currently underway, including engineering design.

Syria’s S-300s are being integrated in Russia’s national nuclear C3 command and control system

 

When Russian Defense Minister Sergei Shoigu said on Oct. 2 that the “unified” S-300 air defense systems in Syria will be installed in Syria by Oct. 20, he really meant its integration in the Russian homeland system. This element of his report to President Vladimir Putin is the key to the real import of Moscow’s response to the downing of its Il-20 spy plane on Sept. 17, for which Shoigu blamed Israel. DEBKAfile’s military and intelligence sources report that Putin seized on the disaster to establish in Syria an advanced air defense weapons system linked not only to the Russian Khmeimim Air Base in Latakia, but integrated in Russia’s own C3 command, control and communications system against nuclear attack.

China ‘nearing mass production’ of J-20 stealth fighter after engine problems ironed out

China’s new J-20 stealth fighter could soon go into mass production as earlier problems with its engine have now been resolved, sources say. Photo: EPA

 

Improved power train will give Chinese jet ability to fly undetected at supersonic speeds, on par with United States’ F-35

A new and improved engine designed to make China’s J-20 stealth fighter a world-class combat jet should be ready for mass production by the end of the year, military sources have said.

The WS-15 engine features cutting-edge single-crystal turbine blades and has been in development for several years, but Chinese technicians have struggled to get it into mass production.

Japan Deploys Aegis Ashore, Becoming a Link in the US Global Missile Defense

 

On July 30, Japanese Defense Minister Itsunori Onodera announced a plan to deploy the Aegis Ashore missile-defense system by 2023. The military training grounds in the Akita and Yamaguchi prefectures are prospective sites.  This decision is a “big-ticket purchase” that could also help Tokyo smooth trade friction with Washington, amidst the Trump administration’s threats to hit Japan’s auto imports with new tariffs.  Reuters cited Japanese media reports that have put the cost of the two sites, which will include the Aegis air-defense system, missile launchers, and interceptors, at around $6 billion. Japan has chosen the Lockheed Martin Corp’s SSR radar, with a far greater range than the Aegis radars currently operated by the US Navy. Officially, the move is being justified by pointing to the threat from North Korea.

Russia, China Could Soon Outmatch U.S. in Combat Aviation

R-37M / Photo by Reuben F. Johnson

 

New Russian air-to-air missile has advantage in speed and reach

KIEV, Ukraine—Russia’s Ministry of Defense (MoD) announced that a new weapon is very near completion of its test validation trials and will soon be placed into service.

If reports of its operational performance are accurate, it will threaten the survivability of every U.S. combat aircraft currently in service—particularly the newest U.S. fighter, the Lockheed Martin F-35.

Is Turkey Playing a Double Game with NATO?

Pictured: A Russian S-400 missile battery. (Image source: Vitaly Kuzmin/Wikimedia Commons)

 

• Why would Turkey first order a Russian defense system and then turn around and make a cooperation agreement with Europe for the same purpose?
• This goes back to America’s apprehension that if Turkey uses the S-400s along with the U.S. F-35s, Russia could gain access to information about the aircraft’s sensitive technology.
• If Turkey is playing a double game with NATO, let us hope that the United States does not fall prey to it.

In January, 2018 Turkey reportedly awarded an 18-month contract for a study on the development and production of a long-range air- and missile-defense system to France and Italy, showing — ostensibly — Turkey’s ongoing commitment to NATO. The study, contracted between the EUROSAM consortium and Turkey’s Aselsan and Roketsan companies, was agreed upon in Paris, on the sidelines of a meeting between French President Emmanuel Macron and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

Russia And India Ditch Dollar In Military Deals

With the US increasingly willing to use the dollar, and SWIFT, as a strategic weapon against the country’s sovereign enemies (as Iran learned every 5 or so years), Russia and India are preparing to bypass US sanctions on Moscow by using the rupee and the ruble in bilateral trade involving military deals, the Economic Times reported.

Some $2 billion in weapons deals between India and Russia have been hit as a result of the recent US sanctions, as payments get stuck. The countries are seeking to bypass such monetary bottlenecks this by switching to settlements in domestic currencies and ditching the greenback.

A US senate majority blocks F-35 stealth planes to Turkey

As mentioned in a previous post, look for Turkey to align itself with the axis powers, and even likely the Shanghai Cooperation Organization — a worldwide war axis that masquerades itself around as a political organization. NATO is finished and Europe, ran by Berlin, is looking to defend itself with its own European Army under construction.

 

A the last minute, by a large majority of 85 to 10, the US Senate blocked the sale of the advanced US F-35 stealth planes to Turkey until a detailed plan is presented to prove that Ankara would not have access to US technology for its home manufacture of components.

Turkey, an Ally no More, Shouldn’t Get F-35s

In the case of Turkey, which clearly hasn’t been an ally of ours, they should indeed not be allowed to have F-35s. The problem with this, however, is that they will turn to China or Russia for their next generation fighters. What’s more, they will make it official that they are allied with China and Russia, and possibly even join the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.

Should Turkey be allowed to purchase F-35s, they would likely pass the technology on to Russia and China, resulting in America’s newest deployed weaponry being compromised. America is in a catch-22: Give Turkey what it wants and lose ground in air supremacy via technology transfer, or lose an entire nation to the axis powers. The former is the lesser of two evils in the sense that it delays the issue for a while, whereas the latter only keeps feeding Turkish belligerency and continued backstabbing.

 

 

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo met yesterday with his Turkish counterpart, who would have us believe Turkey is still a U.S. ally.  In fact, it is no more.