German Chancellor Angela Merkel Comes Under Fire For Saudi Tank Deal

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Germany's centre-right coalition on Tuesday came under increasing fire from both the opposition and Angela Merkel's own conservatives for a controversial arms deal to supply 200 Leopard tanks to Saudi Arabia despite its questionable human rights record.

News agency Reuters reported that most of the parliamentary leadership of Chancellor Merkel’s Christian Democratic Union (CDU) raised objections to the sale at a meeting on Monday. The environmentalist Greens planned to raise the issue in the Bundestag on Tuesday.

News magazine Der Spiegel reported at the weekend that the German government had given the green light to the sale of Leopard 2 battle tanks, which would reap more than €1 billion for the country’s arms industry but reverse its long-held policy not to supply heavy weaponry to the Arab kingdom.

Reuters reported that key members of the party’s parliamentary group raised vocal concerns, including the chairman of the foreign affairs committee, Ruprecht Polenz, Bundestag president Norbert Lammert and the party’s human rights expert Erika Steinbach.

They argued that breaches of human rights by Saudi Arabia raised questions about the sale. Lammert pointed out Saudi Arabia had recently deployed tanks to help suppress the anti-government protests in neighbouring Bahrain.

Concerns about Israel's safety have also been expressed.

The Greens’ parliamentary leader, Jürgen Trittin, said the supply of tanks to the autocratic regime would breach the tradition of Germany’s Middle East policy.

“Such equipment is not usually supplied to such areas,” Trittin told public broadcaster ARD on Tuesday morning.

Saudi Arabia had only recently been involved in “steamrolling” the pro-democracy movement in the gulf state of Bahrain, he added. On top of additional arms supplies to Algeria valued at about €10 billion, the government was entering dangerous new territory. “It shows that there is no red line any longer for the federal government in Middle East policy,” Trittin said.

Der Spiegel reported that the deal had been approved by the government’s Security Council, a cabinet group made up of the chancellor and key ministers and which examines all major arms deals. The government has so far declined to comment.

Reuters also reported that Saudia Arabia has already purchased 44 battle tanks from Germany.

Merkel’s junior coalition partners, the pro-business Free Democratic Party (FDP) has also raised concerns. The party’s defence expert, Elke Hoff, told broadcaster ARD: "They may do it. The question is whether it is accompanied by the necessary political sensitivity and how it is received by the public."

At an emergency debate in the Bundestag, the German government has refused to explain allegations that it approved a tank deal with Saudi Arabia. The opposition accused Berlin of supporting repression in the Middle East.

Facing the German parliament on Wednesday, Hans-Joachim Otto, the state secretary for Germany's economics ministry, defended Germany's business alliance with Saudi Arabia amid media reports that Berlin approved the sale of 200 Leopard tanks to the Gulf State

Merkel's government refuses to comment on matters discussed confidentially within the federal security council which determines export guidelines. For 20 years, Germany has not exported heavy weapons - including tanks - to Saudi Arabia, due to concerns over its repression of its own citizens.

A Saudi security source confirmed the deal earlier in the week, saying 44 of the 200 tanks ordered had already been bought.

The source declined to give a value for the purchase, saying it was a multi-billion euro deal involving the German companies Krauss-Maffei Wegmann (KMW) and Rheinmetall. KMW declined comment on the deal but said it was "not aware of any changes to trade regulations covering military exports."

The purchase follows a $93 billion stimulus package from Saudi King Abdullah in March to beef up police and security forces in response to unrest sweeping through the Arab world.

Germany's opposition has accused Merkel's cabinet of hypocrisy, charging that Berlin - which publicly supports the Arab Spring pro-democracy movements - shouldn't be sending battle tanks to a country that used tanks to help Bahrain quell anti-regime demonstrations in March.

Outside the Bundestag on Wednesday, hundreds of protesters held up banners recalling dictatorships that used tanks to crush activist movements. Using the examples of East Berlin, Prague, Beijing, and Damascus, demonstrators urged parliamentarians inside not to sell heavy weapons to regimes infamous for the repression of their own people.
The Local/djw/AFP

Germany, France And Poland Sign Agreement To Form Joint Battlegroup

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The three European Union military powers signed an agreement in Brussels to put together a unit of 1,700 soldiers that will take part in the rotation of the EU's rapid reaction force, known as battlegroups.

The three nations, bound by a long history of alliances, rivalry and wars, have discussed the possibility of creating the so-called Weimar Combat Group since 2006.

The unit will be available as part of the rotation of EU battlegroups. Two battlegroups are on standby every six months to deploy in case of emergencies, but they have never been called into action.

The technical agreement between the high-ranking military officers from the Germany, France and Poland comes four days after Poland took over the the EU's rotating presidency.

Poland will command the group, providing the core combat troops and a mechanised battalion, a high-ranking French military official said in Brussels.

Germany will provide logistical support, while France will contribute with medical support.

The operational command centre will be based in Mont Valerien, located in a Paris suburb.

Paris, Berlin and Warsaw created the Weimar Triangle in 1992 to encourage cooperation between the three nations after the Cold War.

AFP/The Local

Turkey Modernizes German Leopard 2 Tanks

Turkey's largest defense company Aselsan has completed the modernization of the German Leopard 2A4 tank, which will serve partly as a test bed for the country's planned first main battle tank, the Altay, Anatolia news agency reported Friday.

Aselsan dubbed the tank it just modernized as the "Leopard 2 Next Generation." The new tank will be displayed at IDEF 2011, Turkey's largest defense fair, which is held every two years in Istanbul. This year's event will run from May 10 to 13.

Aselsan, while modernizing the Leopard 2A4, has replaced the tank's all electronic, electro-optical, electro-mechanical and electro-hydraulic equipment with its state-of-the-art systems, the state news agency said.

Aselsan earlier modernized 171 German-made Leopard 1 tanks under a $160 million contract with the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, or SSM, Turkey's defense procurement agency.

A state-owned company, Aselsan specializes in military electronics. Founded in Ankara in 1975, the company's 2009 revenue reached nearly $643 million.

Separately, Otokar, a private armored vehicle maker, signed two years ago a $500 million contract with SSM for the design and development of the Altay, Turkey's first indigenous main battle tank.

Otokar has a deal with South Korea's Hyundai Rotem to obtain technology transfer for the production of four Altay prototypes by the end of 2015. Several other Turkish companies, including Aselsan, are taking part in the Altay's development.

Many of the subsystems Aselsan has used to modernize the Leopard 2A4 will be included in the Altay.

Israel's Israeli Military Industries, or IMI, had upgraded the Turkish Army's 170 U.S.-made M60 main battle tanks for nearly $700 million. IMI, which worked with several Turkish partners including Aselsan, delivered the last upgraded M60 to Turkey about a year ago.

But IMI's upgrade of the M60s and Aselsan's modernization of the Leopard 1 are different matters. The first deal included major armor, fire control and engine progress, while the second project included the replacement of fire control systems only.

Full-Speed Ahead For MASS

To protect their fleets from missile attacks, the navies of Peru, Finland and Germany have all ordered MASS, Rheinmetall's "Multi Ammunition Softkill System", a state-of-the-art decoy system for protecting frigates, corvettes, minesweepers and patrol craft. In winning these three orders, MASS has once again outclassed its international rivals as well as gaining a foothold in the South American market. The three orders are worth a total of approximately EUR15.5 million.
As part of a comprehensive modernization of its LUPO-class frigates, the Peruvian Navy has placed an order with Rheinmetall Defence initially to equip two ships with the MASS naval countermeasure system. The contract also includes an option for equipping two more frigates of this class within the next two years.

The German Navy has awarded Rheinmetall with another follow-on order for equipping its minesweepers with MASS, reflecting the great emphasis Germany places on force protection.

Following immediate retrofitting in 2008 of two countermine vessels in response to an urgent operational requirement (UNIFIL), two more vessels of the same class were equipped with MASS in 2009. Under the current order, two more countermine vessels will be equipped with a MASS two-launcher configuration with integrated detection unit.

MASS (Multi Ammunition Softkill System) decoy launcher of the Finnish missile boat Pori.

The Finnish Navy, opting once again for MASS, has contracted with Rheinmetall Defence to retrofit six RAUMA-class missile boats. In 2002, Finland - the system's pilot customer - had its Hamina-class fast attack craft outfitted with MASS technology.

Since its market launch in 2002, customers around the globe have ordered no fewer than 172 launcher units.

Superior protection with MASS
Guided missiles and other projectiles pose a constant threat to civilian shipping and naval vessels alike. MASS protects ships from attacks using advanced, sensor-guided missiles on the high seas and coastal waters as well as from asymmetric, terrorist-type threats. MASS fires decoy rounds which lure incoming projectiles away from their intended target.

Fully automatic, the MASS naval countermeasure system offers significant tactical, operational and logistical advantages and can be installed onboard any vessel. Moreover, it can be integrated into any command and control system or operated in standalone mode.

The MASS system's innovative, programmable omnispectral rounds assure protection in all relevant wavelengths of the electromagnetic spectrum (radar, infrared, laser, EO, UV). Numerous international test campaigns have demonstrated its effectiveness in compelling fashion.

MASS with integrated detection unit
Featuring an integrated detection unit, the "MASS ISS - Integrated Sensor Suite" represents an innovative departure in naval electronic warfare. Jointly developed by Rheinmetall Defence and Saab (Electronic Defence Systems), this new version of MASS comes with sensors capable of detecting both radar and laser threats.