Date of Award

3-2002

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Name

Master of Science

Department

Department of Operational Sciences

First Advisor

William A. Cunningham, III, PhD

Abstract

This study sought to describe Turkish defense offsets in foreign procurements. Located at the epicenter of regions fraught with crisis, Turkey is a secular, democratic, liberal country sharing western moral values. With the tradition of its 1,000 years of statehood, its constitutional order, and its strong armed forces, Turkey is a center of power that can affect delicate balances of power in the region. Offsets started to become an important way of obtaining industrial and technological benefits when importing military equipment in the early and mid-1980s. Offset deals remain an important aspect of Turkish arms importing policy and offset applications in Turkish foreign procurements show that offsets are likely to appear increasingly in the foreseeable future. Consequently, the study of Turkish defense offsets is important. The history of offsets is introduced for the background of this research. As a major user of U.S. defense systems, Turkey each year buys American weapons worth more than $ 1 billion. So, U.S. offset policy is described as a main supplier. A history of the offset policy in Turkey and an analysis of the application of the offset policy is provided. The conclusion is reached that offsets might prove beneficial for development of the Turkish defense industry, provided that the appropriate policy measures create a defense industrial base capable of assimilating future offset benefits programs.

AFIT Designator

AFIT-GLM-ENS-02-07

DTIC Accession Number

ADA400549

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