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Tuesday, July 20, 2010     GET REAL

Turkey moves up launch date of spy satellite

ANKARA — Turkey has stepped up plans to launch its first spy satellite, now scheduled before the end of 2010.

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Officials said the Turkish Defense Ministry and military would oversee the launch of its first military reconnaissance satellite toward the end of the year. They said the Gokturk satellite would provide Turkey with strategic information on regional threats, including the Kurdish insurgency in neighboring Iraq.

On July 16, Prime Minister Recep Erdogan reported Turkish plans to launch the spy satellite in 2010, Middle East Newsline reported. Erdogan said the electro-optical satellite would provide intelligence to the military and government as part of efforts to bolster CI capabilities.


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Erdogan's statement was the first time a senior official said Gokturk would be ready in 2010. As late as eight months ago, officials said they envisioned a satellite launch no earlier than 2012.

"We have been working on increasing training of security forces for counter terrorism and on making those forces more experienced," Erdogan told his Justice and Development Party. "Our aim is to designate only professional personnel at our borders."

In July 2009, Italy's Telespazio signed a 250 million euro [$353 million] contract for Gokturk, a French-origin satellite designed to have a high resolution capability of less than one meter. Telespazio was expected to award about $100 million in subcontracts to such Turkish firms as Turkish Aerospace Industries, Aselsan and Tubitak.



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