No US governmental or congressional block on Patriot sales to Turkey.

No US governmental or congressional block on Patriot sales to Turkey.(HD).A senior executive at U.S. defense company Raytheon has ruled out the possibility of a U.S. governmental or congressional blockade against the delivery of a critical air defense and anti-missile system, dubbed as T-LORAMIDS, if Turkey chose the Patriot solution in multi-billion dollar international bidding.

“Turkey is a valuable ally of the United States and a NATO partner. Turkey’s T-LORAMIDS program fulfills an important NATO air and missile defense commitment,” Mike Boots, manager for the Turkey Patriot Program, told Hürriyet Daily News.

U.S. arms supplies to Turkey in the past have faced blockades on various pretexts including political issues. In the most recent example, the U.S. administration has not positively replied to a Turkish request to acquire the MQ-9 Reaper, an armed drone. Defense analysts agree that the MQ-9 is not a system the United States could share with any ally including, even, Britain.

Boots said Raytheon was already working closely with several Turkish defense companies to produce Patriot components for export to other countries, including strategic partnerships with Aselsan, Roketsan and Turkish defense companies Pagetel and Ayesas.

“In addition to those Turkish strategic partners that are currently producing Patriot, many other Turkish defense companies have the experience and skills we look for in our suppliers. As we win in other countries, they will get the opportunity to compete for additional work for those programs,” Boots said. T-LORAMIDS has been designed to counter both enemy aircraft and missiles. Turkey presently has no long-range air-defense systems.

Defense officials said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan had ordered a restructuring of the T-LORAMIDS program so that contenders would make additional coproduction offers. Erdoğan has been keen on local solutions in most defense modernization programs and insists on a pressing need for Turkey to acquire foreign technology “wherever, whenever possible.” 
In line with that policy, Turkey ambitiously hopes to develop, with foreign technological assistance, its own unmanned aerial vehicles, main battle tanks, submarines, corvettes, missiles, helicopters and even a fighter jet. “It should come as no surprise that Erdoğan wanted to reshape T-LORAMIDS so as to make the local industry earn some missile capabilities,” said an Ankara-based defense analyst. “He hopes these capabilities may help Turkey with its own missile program.”

Hmmmm.....Does the US really want to give a country supporting Iran, Hamas , the Muslim Brotherhood and Palestine this Technology?Only to be used later against Israel and America?Read the full story here.