The sources said Ankara's focus was to
maintain critical programs, particularly the procurement and operation of
the Israeli-origin Heron unmanned aerial vehicle.
"Everything else is up in the air," the source said.
In April 2010, Israel completed the last major defense project in
Turkey, valued at $688 million. A consortium led by the state-owned Israel
Military Industries upgraded 170 M-60A3 main battle tanks to a configuration
similar to that of Israel's Merkava Mk-4, Middle East Newsline reported. IMI has been sued by a Turkish
company for breach of contract.
"At one point, there was lots of interest in the Turkish military to
order another upgrade," the source said. "Not any more."
The Defense Ministry has sought to compensate for the loss of the
Turkish market by increasing sales in South America. At least one country,
Colombia, has expressed interest in procuring Merkava Mk-4 as well as other
Israeli combat platforms.
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