US Approve Patriot Missile Sale to Turkey; S-400 Deal Under Threat?

In a sign that Turkey and the United States have kissed and made up, the US state department has approved a sale to Turkey of 80 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced (GEM-T) missiles and 60 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles for $3.5 billion.

The Patriot missile sale means that Turkey could be re-considering its purchase of the S-400 air defence system from Russia. Ankara had bought the S-400 after Washington had refused permission to sell Patriot missile defence system.

The US Defense Security Cooperation Agency delivered the required certification notifying Congress of this possible sale December 18.

Turkey has requested the possible sale of four AN/MPQ-65 Radar Sets, four Engagement Control Stations, 10 Antenna Mast Groups (AMGs), 20 M903 Launching Stations, 80 Patriot MIM-104E Guidance Enhanced Missiles (GEM-T) missiles with canisters, 60 PAC-3 Missile Segment Enhancement (MSE) missiles, and five (5) Electrical Power Plant (EPP) III.

Also included with this request are communications equipment, tools and test equipment, range and test programs, support equipment and other related elements of logistics and program support. The total estimated program cost is $3.5 billion.

Turkey is a member of and critical enabling platform for the Defeat-ISIS campaign, a US DoD statement said. The TPY-2 radar site that Turkey hosts is important to the European Phased Adaptive Approach and to efforts to protect Allies and partners against growing Iranian ballistic missile threats.

The proposed sale will enhance Turkey’s interoperability with the United States and NATO, making it a more valuable partner in an increasingly important area of the world.

Turkey will use Patriot to improve its missile defense capability, defend its territorial integrity, and deter regional threats.  The proposed sale will increase the defensive capabilities of the Turkey military to guard against hostile aggression and shield NATO Allies who might train and operate within Turkey's borders.

The prime contractors will be Raytheon Corporation in Andover, Massachusetts, and Lockheed-Martin in Dallas, Texas.  The purchaser requested offsets.