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House Panel Approves Frigate, Minehunter Transfers to Turkey
Business as usual, as we nudge the Euros out of the way. But now is not the best time to extend these deals to Turkey. Hat tip to the Former Spook.
The Foreign Affairs Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives has approved a bill to grant to Turkey three decommissioned U.S. military ships and to sell a fourth to the allied nation at a large discount. The panel passed the bill on a voice vote.

Under the arrangement, the U.S. should transfer to Turkey two Oliver Hazard Perry-class guided-missile frigates and an Osprey-class coastal minehunter. Another coastal minehunter was offered to Turkey at the sale price of nearly $28 million. The two frigates, recently decommissioned by the U.S. Navy, are valued at about $125 million each, and the Osprey-class minehunters are worth about $130 million each, U.S. and Turkish military officials said.

The bill now must be approved in a House floor vote and by the Senate before being signed by President George W. Bush. Under the same bill, the U.S. also is planning to grant two other Osprey-class minehunters to Lithuania and to sell another two to Taiwan.

The Foreign Affairs Committee’s chairman, Rep. Tom Lantos (D-Calif.), sponsored the bill. On the Senate side, the bill’s sponsor is Sen. Joe Biden, D-Del., chairman of the Foreign Relations Committee.
Lantos was also a sponsor on the Armenia genocide bill. Nice to see he can play both sides of the street.
Turkey’s navy already has eight Perry-class frigates granted earlier by the U.S. These frigates specialize in surface combat, and to bolster the vessels’ anti-submarine capabilities, Turkey deploys S-70 B Seahawk naval warfare helicopters, purchased from Sikorsky Aircraft, Stratford, Conn. The Osprey-class coastal minehunters would be the first in the Turkish navy’s fleet.

Most of Turkey’s ships are German-built. The U.S., in an effort to boost its influence, over the past decade has been granting frigates to the Turkish navy, a move that also encourages Turkey’s purchase of Seahawks.

Under the latest deal, Turkey stands to gain four ships, but it would have to pay for repair and refurbishment of the vessels before their formal deliveries. Such work would be performed at U.S. shipyards.
Posted by: Steve White 2007-10-27
http://www.rantburg.com/poparticle.php?ID=204090