South Korea to aid Turkey in MBT development

South Korea's Defence Acquisition Programme Administration announced this week that government officials had signed a $400 million deal with Ankara to help develop a new main battle tank (MBT) by 2015. The deal calls for at least 50 percent of the work is to be conducted by South Korea's defence industry.

The deal was signed between South Korea's Hyundai Rotem and Turkey's Otokar in a ceremony attended by the South Korean Defence Minister Lee Sang-hee and Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Ankara.

The contract also includes the transfer of technology owned by South Korea's Agency for Defence Development (ADD).

Analysts say that the contract is significant because it is a significant boost to South Korea's defence exports. For the Turkish programme South Korea beat Germany to the post to develop the country's new MBT, which will be manufactured domestically with South Korean input. Turkey plans to produce some 200 of the provisionally named Turkey National Main Battle Tank, upon completion of its development.

Even before this latest deal Turkey was one of the largest purchasers of South Korean defence equipment and is set to buy some $100 million worth of weapons, including 155mm self-propelled artillery, from South Korea this year alone according to officials.