ANKARA \u2014 Although a local Turkish company has engaged in talks with foreign aircraft manufacturers to build a stand-off jammer (SOJ) system, the procurement office has launched a parallel program to procure similar systems from a foreign supplier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) has announced that the new program will involve “production, delivery and acceptance of the systems; installation and integration of mission equipment into the systems; construction of barracks and buildings; test and assessment of the systems; maintenance, repairs, technical support, spare parts; supply of ground support equipment and their spare parts and overall training.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The new program is dubbed “Golge,” or “shadow in Turkish.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Industry sources said that <\/span>the new competition indicates an is an indication of<\/span> “urgent requirement” for two reasons: First, <\/span>Defense electronics specialist Aselsan, Turkey’s biggest defenseines<\/span> firm, already is engaged in a similar program to provide designed to earn <\/span>Turkey SOJ capabilities, and second, <\/span>potential bidders are asked to reply within a relatively short time. <\/p>\n\n\n\n A request for proposal (RfP) document <\/span>issued by SSM asks bidders to reply no later than Feb. 23. <\/p>\n\n\n\n “This is a relatively short time frame for a program ofs<\/span> this size and complexity,” a Western aerospace official here said. “Or perhaps the Turks may <\/span>already have negotiated with potential bidders and know which companies will show up.”<\/p>\n\n\n\n