A new-generation defense electronics firm, Meteksan Savunma, is becoming Turkey's first underwater acoustics center, with several programs in this so-far-unexplored market already in its portfolio.

In June, the country's civilian defense procurement office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, or Savunma Sanayi Mustesarligi (SSM) in Turkish, selected Meteksan Savunma, based here, as Turkey's "acoustics excellence center." Meteksan was competing with local rivals Aselsan, Gate Elektronik and Koc Savunma.

The SSM also awarded a contract to Meteksan for the production and integration of the sonar wet end for Milgem, Turkey's national corvette program. The initial phase of the sonar program, consisting of 11 units, is worth more than $40 million, according to Meteksan. The contract is open-ended and will entail follow-on orders.

The wet end of a naval sonar system consists of the transmit and receive transducer arrays, together with associated electronics. The system can consist of hundreds of narrowly spaced hydrophones, which detect minute pressure variations in the water. Generally, wet end units include arrays, hoisting and stabilization systems.

The TCG Heybeliada, the first of at least eight corvettes being built under the $2 billion Milgem program, was put to sea last September.

Under the Milgem acoustics program, Meteksan will develop and produce several systems, including an underwater telephone that will be used on all Turkish naval vessels, including Milgem ships and new submarines. Turkey earlier this year signed a $3.5 billion contract with German shipyard Howaldtswerke Deutsche Werft AG (HDW) for the acquisition of four modern non-nuclear submarines.

Increasing Work Share

The rise of Meteksan, whose defense branch was formed in 2006, and a number of other young software and systems companies coincides with the Turkish procurement agency's policy to maximize the domestic industry's contribution to defense deals.

Meteksan's main activities are sensor technologies, simulation systems, satellite and space technologies, marine platforms, and hardware and software infrastructure. Besides underwater acoustics, its activities include the development and production of training and support simulation systems, radars, communications gear, and laser and intelligence systems.

The company's 2008 sales totaled about $30 million. It has won contracts to build millimeter-wave radars for a program that entails the domestic co-production of attack helicopters for the Army. The prime foreign contractor on the program is Italian-British AgustaWestland, Cascina Costa, Italy. Meteksan also has been chosen to produce a naval operations simulator, a national training center for the Army and a fire control simulator for the Navy.

The SSM is striving to increase the share of local industry work in defense programs, on average, to 50 percent. The office oversees a majority of Turkey's military modernization programs, worth more than $4 billion annually.

But final decisions on defense programs are made by the Defense Industry Executive Committee, or Savunma Sanayi Icra Komitesi (SSIK) in Turkish. SSIK's members are Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan; Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul; Army Gen. Ilker Basbug, the chief of General Staff; and SSM's chief, Murad Bayar.

Bayar told Defense News in June that the goal of 50 percent is likely to be reached next year. "We are already close to that figure," he said.

The SSM is especially keen to raise local industry content in Navy programs. Turkey's dockyards currently produce almost all of the country's naval vessels, and defense officials say that bolstering software and integration work is a top priority in those programs. And underwater acoustics is one of those top priorities.

Industry sources estimate the acoustics market at around $1.5 billion in the next 10 years. They say Meteksan made an early leap ahead of its rivals, but it may have to build partnerships with other local and foreign companies for other related contracts.

"Meteksan is clearly on its way to becoming Turkey's acoustics center. It has secured the initial contracts and is piling up a good degree of technological know-how in this field. But that doesn't mean it will win all acoustics deals in the future," said Ozgur Eksi, an industry analyst based here. "In the years ahead, there will be plenty of electronics and software-based naval programs for which the government will try to push for national solutions."

To get the best results, as part of the acoustics excellence center program, "we shall get support from national universities like Anadolu and Bilkent," said Turgut Senol, Meteksan's chief executive.

Bilkent University, based here, also owns the Bilkent Holding conglomerate, Tur-key's 15th largest industry group. Bilkent Holding owns Meteksan, and more than 40 other mostly large-scale companies operate under the Bilkent corporate umbrella. Bilkent University is privately owned and is not listed on the local stock exchange.

The university is widely known for its researchers' expertise in the field of underwater acoustics. Meteksan has invested in underwater acoustics laboratories on a small lake within the university campus.

Senol said that Meteksan hopes to take part in the acoustics sonar head and other underwater acoustics as part of the recently launched National Torpedo Development Project. The Defense Industry Executive Committee has chosen Roketsan, a missile and rocket maker based here, as prime contractor.

The National Torpedo Development Project is expected to last beyond a scheduled period of 10 years and will eventually total more than $1 billion, industry sources said.

The quantities of torpedoes the Turkish Navy will require in the next 10 years is not precisely known at the moment, one source said, but the program would likely pass the $1 billion threshold probably earlier than the end of the 10th year. It will entail the production of both light and heavy torpedoes meeting NATO standards.

http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4296899&c=FEA&s=BUS

---

Grenades explode in the hands of the troops..... UAVs fall down from the sky..... Sonars get dumped on reefs....

Im sure its all part of a secret military experiment....

i love it when you try to put us down it goes to show how jealous you are

Just stating the facts.....

And by the way all of your stated facts have happened only ONCE but you write "Grenades, UAVs, sonars" etc. These types of events unfortunately occur on all militaries around the world.

yeah small ones only

hey Greek develop your own systems than come back you are all talk and talk is cheap !

More good news

---