The air forces of Turkey, Israel and the United States will hold their first-ever joint air exercises this month in the central Turkish province of Konya, an Israeli diplomat told AFP on Thursday.
The drills, dubbed "Anatolian Eagle," will start on June 17 and are expected to last three days, said the diplomat, who asked not to be named.
This will be the first time that the three countries stage joint air exercises, he added.
The announcement of the military exercises came only three days after US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld visited Ankara and held talks with Turkish leaders on boosting bilateral ties and regional issues, especially the Iraqi crisis.
The diplomat did not give details about the number of aircraft the countries would send, while Turkey's general staff declined to comment on the issue.
In the past, Israel and Turkey have conducted joint air drills in the same region.
The two countries and the United States held joint naval maneuvers in January 2001, December 1999 and January 1998.
Turkey and Israel have developed close military ties since 1996, when the two signed a military cooperation accord, much to the anger of most Arab countries and Iran.
Turkey signed in 1996 a $630 million contract for
Israel to overhaul 54 of its aging F-4 Phantom jet fighters with advanced avionics and other high-tech wizardry. Half the work is to be done in Turkey with Israeli know-how. Israel is competing for another contract to upgrade a further 48 Turkish F-5 fighters, according to an article by the Washington Post published late last year.
Israel is also bidding to supply the Turkish army with
ground-to-air missiles and a new generation of small arms to
replace the G-3 rifle used by the Turkish infantry.
The biggest prize Israel is eyeing is a contract valued at
$4.5 billion to $5 billion to supply the Turkish military with up to 1,000 battle tanks, the paper added - Albawaba.com
© 2001 Al Bawaba (www.albawaba.com)
