Lunatik
Active member
Hi Rorke,
Against known threats and as part of the state's national defense policy, Turkey has to maintain a certain number of capable tanks at all times. It cannot wait for the first batch of Altay tanks (250 count) until 2015. Stop-gap measures had to be taken and Sabra wasn't a very bad idea as it used Turkey's own M60s, which were slowly becoming more of a liability than a proper deterrent. And of course there are also political reasons. Turkey and Israel, both being non-Arab, non-Persian Middle Easterners, have a special relationship and as part of that relationship they cooperate a lot on defense. Israel even invited Turkey to the Arrow (SAM) project but the US blocked it as it saw the deal as a potential security risk. F-4 Terminator upgrade by IAI, Popeye missiles partnership and sales of Herons to TuAF can be given as other major examples of that regional cooperation.
Against known threats and as part of the state's national defense policy, Turkey has to maintain a certain number of capable tanks at all times. It cannot wait for the first batch of Altay tanks (250 count) until 2015. Stop-gap measures had to be taken and Sabra wasn't a very bad idea as it used Turkey's own M60s, which were slowly becoming more of a liability than a proper deterrent. And of course there are also political reasons. Turkey and Israel, both being non-Arab, non-Persian Middle Easterners, have a special relationship and as part of that relationship they cooperate a lot on defense. Israel even invited Turkey to the Arrow (SAM) project but the US blocked it as it saw the deal as a potential security risk. F-4 Terminator upgrade by IAI, Popeye missiles partnership and sales of Herons to TuAF can be given as other major examples of that regional cooperation.