The U.S. administration has notified Congress of a possible sale of Patriot PAC-3 antimissile batteries and related gear to Turkey, the only NATO member bordering Iran.
Friday, 18 September 2009 12:02
A Turkish military spokesman said Friday a possible purchase of Patriot missiles from the United States would cost 1 billion USD, not previously reported figure of 7.8 billion USD.
General Ferit Guler, chairman of the Communication Office with the Turkish General Staff, said Turkey was planning to buy four Patriot PAC-3 batteries at a cost of 1 billion USD with a six-year repayment period.
U.S. Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA), a part of the U.S. Defense Department, earlier said it had notified the Congress of the possible sale to Turkey of 13 Patriot batteries and estimated cost around 7.8 billion USD.
“The news reports that say the purchase would cost 7.8 billion USD are not correct on the part of Turkey,” Guler told a weekly press briefing in Ankara, the Turkish capital.
The spokesman said the purchase was a part of the military’s procurement plan and “it isn’t against any specific country.”
Turkey’s foreign minister said on Thursday that any purchase of Patriot missiles from the United States was not due to a particular threat from neighbours but part of a modernisation of the country’s defence.
“This was something that was planned earlier, it is not something new,” Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said.
The sale to Turkey would include 13 Patriot “fire units”, 72 Patriot Advanced Capability-3 missiles and a range of associated hardware for ground-based air defence, the Pentagon’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said in a notice made public last week.
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