Special to WorldTribune.com

ANKARA — Turkey, faced with insurgency infiltration from at least three neighbors, has sought to invest in homeland security.

Officials said President Recep Erdogan has approved plans to expand procurement of systems that would protect critical facilities in Turkey from guided missiles. They said the Defense Industry Undersecretariat, or SSM, has already issued a tender that could exceed hundreds of millions of dollars.

“This is a completely new field for us,” an official said.

Officials said Ankara has determined a missile threat from Iran, Iraq and Syria. They said this could include a campaign by Islamic State of Iraq and Levant, with a major presence in Turkey where early support for ISIL’s development took place, officials said.

[Related: Turkey’s overlooked role in rise of latest ‘Islamic Caliphate’, and what’s coming next, Aug. 26]

The homeland security threat has been heightened by Turkey’s nuclear energy program. Ankara has launched the construction of a 1,200 megawatt reactor near Akuyu with plans for another facility over the next decade.

So far, 11 Turkish companies have responded to the SSM tender. The frontrunners were identified as the state-owned Aselsan, deemed Turkey’s electronic warfare laboratory, and Havelsan.

Officials said SSM was helping identify critical facilities operated by both military and government. They said the agency was studying the prospect of missile and rocket defense batteries that could be deployed around military bases, dams, bridges, energy pipelines, power stations and government complexes.
“We have not yet determined how many facilities need such protection, so the value of the project remains unknown,” the official said.

  After early support for ISIL, Erdogan, homeland security, ISIL, Turkey, Turkey now finds itself focusing on homeland security, WorldTribune.com