06:53 pm - Monday
Turkey might cancel orders for Israeli UAVs
Ankara, Turkey - 50-day deadline for IAI and Elbit to deliver the Herons
(WAPA) - The Turkish government has given the Israeli companies Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI) and Elbit Systems a 50-day deadline to deliver 10 Heron drones, for which a US$180 million contract had been signed in 2005. The program gathered a strong delay and, if the Israeli companies would not respect the deadline, Turkey might cancel the order and ask for a penalty.
The decision has been sent by Turkish defense minister Vecdi Gönül with a letter. "If this letter does not bear fruit either -he stated- the tender may be cancelled. But there is no cancellation at the moment. This has nothing to do with politics".
The two companies, however, explained that the delays are due to the difficulty of building an engine powerful enough to carry the Turkish-made Aselfir300T payload, that would be to heavy for Heron's current capabilities. (Avionews)
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Direttore Clara Moschini