ANKARA — Ten new contenders joined a list of 15 companies that had earlier expressed in a Turkish bidding for the acquisition of a Coast Guard aircraft and its systems integration work.
Turkey's procurement office, the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) said that it now has a total of 25 Turkish and foreign companies vying for the contract.
The companies have formally responded to SSM’s Rrequest for Iinformation issued on Jan. 15.
The newcomers include Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training and Havelsan, a Turkish state-controlled military software concern.
"Isn’t it amazing that 25 companies joined the race in a span of two weeks?," said one industry source. "It will be an interesting contest to watch."
The full list of bidders are:
• Sierra Nevada Corp.
• Aselsan
• Navigator International LLC
• Meteksan Savunma
• Airborne Technologies GmbH
• SDT Uzay ve Savunma
• Duygu Havacilik
• SAVRONIK
• Aerodata AG
• Finmeccanica SpA Airborne & Space Systems Division
• Beechcraft Berlin Aviation GmbH
• Provincial Aerospace
• STM
• Skyline Ulasim
• Portline Havacilik
• Aerlyper
• Delta Elektronik Ticaret Ve Sanayi Limited Şirketi
• HAVELSAN A.Ş.
• i-Marine Deniz Teknolojileri ve Araştırmaları San. ve Tic. A.Ş.
• Lockheed Martin Mission Systems and Training
• MAG DS Corp.
• ST Airborne Systems
• TARGET A.Ş.
• Telephonics Corporation
• Universal Switching Corporation
The contract concerns the integration of subsystems into a Coast Guard aircraft for maritime surveillance operations.
SSM said the RFI involves maintenance, operational services and integration of required subsystems for the one Beechcraft King Air 350ER the government will purchase for the Coast Guard program.
The aircraft will perform maritime border security missions, search-and-rescue support and maritime surveillance operations.
SSM is responsible for the execution of the Coast Guard aircraft program. The government agency plans to gather information on potential integrators and clarify technical details concerning the aircraft and subsystems.
Email: bbekdil@defensenews.com
Burak Ege Bekdil was the Turkey correspondent for Defense News.
