News Analysis: After airspace dispute with Russia, Turkey urges to upgrade air defense system

Calls are growing for Turkey to upgrade its air defense system, days after Russian fighter jets breached the NATO member's airspace amid Syria's ever deepening crisis.

Ankara said that two Russian warplanes entered its airspace late last week, and that has prompted Turkish officials to urge their NATO allies to help bolster the country's missile defense.

"The equation at Turkey's border has changed with the Russian intervention," said Hasan Selim Ozertem, a security analyst with the International Strategic Research Organization.

Moscow's bombing on the Islamic State (IS) targets inside Syria, which started on Sept. 30, has added new worries to Ankara, which is already grappling with an influx of refugees and security threat.

The discussions among Turkish military analysts have focused on Turkey's incomplete agreement with China in building up the country's first anti-missile defense system.

Ankara is being urged to reconsider the Chinese bid to construct Turkey's air defense system, so that the country could stay less dependent on Western countries.

"Turkey must finalize its agreement with China not only to construct an air defense system but also to possess a long-range missile defense system and surface to surface missile system," Ismail Hakki Pekin, a former intelligence director of the General Staff, told Xinhua.

Turkey said it selected China Precision Machinery Import-Export Corp. for its air defense architecture in 2013.

But the contract remains pending as NATO officials assert that the Chinese system will not be integrated into NATO's defenses.

Currently Turkey tries to fill the gap in its air defense system with NATO countries' Patriot batteries, which are positioned in the southeastern provinces.

Germany and the United States, however, have announced their plans to withdraw their Patriot batteries on the grounds that the Syrian regime with a reduced missile arsenal was no longer posing a serious threat to Turkey.

Washington started to execute its withdrawal plan on Friday, despite Ankara's plea to the contrary.

Military analysts agree that although NATO Patriot missiles provide short-term solutions for Turkey's security, they are not capable of providing a full protection.

Pekin stressed that NATO's Patriots are not qualified enough with old technology and provide only a partial defense.

"For instance, if Iran fired a missile to Turkey, until the Patriots hit the missile, the whole southeastern Turkey would be under threat," he explained.

He argued that the only deterrent power in the region now is the U.S. Aegis Combat System (ACS).

The combat system is an advanced command and weapon control system that uses powerful computers and radars to track and guide weapons to destroy enemy targets. It is serving U.S. Navy forces based in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Washington assured Ankara lately that the system would continue to protect Turkey in the absence of the Patriots.

Pekin objected to the idea, saying it means Turkey's continuing dependency on others.

"No country should be solely dependent on foreign countries in defending its territory," he argued.

"In that case it will be totally up to the United States to defend Turkey or not. If ACS does not hit the missile, that means that the missile would drop on Turkey's territory," he said.

Turkey's air defense system also relies on the early warning radar station established as part of NATO's controversial missile defense system in Europe.

The station, which became operational in Turkey's province of Malatya in 2012, has been working in sync with the ACS, noted Ozertem.

He agreed that as none of these systems originate from Turkey, they cannot be counted on as long-term, permanent solutions to the country's lack of a deterrent air defense system.

Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, an international relations professor with Ankara's Gazi University, argued that the problem is no longer solely related to Turkey's poor air defense system.

"The Russian violations turned out to be something that will measure NATO's deterrence capacity in the region," he told said. "If NATO will not display its power, then its existence will be in jeopardy in the new international system."

In his view, the reason for Turkey's weak defense system is NATO itself. "Turkey has never entered into a process of armament," he argued. "The country has always been stuck to NATO's plan and the role that has been attributed to Turkey by the allied."

According to the professor, Ankara would speed up to finalize its agreement with China in case of NATO's failure to act as expected. Endit