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Israel, Turkey and U.S. Start First-ever Joint Air Maneuvers
ANKARA, June 18 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Air forces from Israel, Turkey and the United States began their first joint exercises in Turkey's central province of Konya on Monday, Turkish officials told news agencies.
The drills, codenamed "Anatolian Eagle," will end on June 29, an official from the Turkish general staff told AFP.
Israeli diplomatic sources previously said that the exercises would last for three days.
Government spokesman Tunca Toskay denied media reports that depleted uranium weapons would be used during the drills and that the planes would carry out low-altitude, night and supersonic flights.
"Such flights will definitely not take place," the spokesman said, quoting what Turkish Defense Minister Sabahattin Cakmakoglu told fellow ministers at a cabinet meeting earlier on Monday.
In the past, Israel and Turkey have conducted joint air drills in Konya.
Predominantly Muslim, but strictly secular, Turkey has developed close military ties with the Jewish state since 1996 when the two signed a military cooperation accord, much to the anger of most Arab countries and Iran.
The two countries and the United States held joint naval maneuvers in January 2001, December 1999 and January 1998.
The Israeli right-wing newspaper, The Jerusalem Post, in its online edition, said that Turkey and Israel were coming together now because it was "a time of crisis."
"It is very important that at a time of relative crisis, the two countries (Israel and Turkey) show their continued readiness to work together in defense matters," said Barry Rubin, Deputy Director of Bar-Ilan University's BESA Center for Strategic Studies in Israel.
The exercise is the first air maneuver between Turkey and Israel, after a series of naval exercises in the Mediterranean, which saw participation by the U.S. Navy.
Israel's modernizing of Turkish warplanes in a project worth $700 million and Turkey's plans to sell fresh water to Israel, also strengthen the cooperation.
Arab countries, especially Syria, which neighbors Turkey, charge that this strategic partnership targets them. But, Turkey and Israel strictly deny that.
"This exercise indicates deepening relations between Turkey and Israel which Arab nations oppose quite fiercely," said Shlomo Brom, a researcher at Tel Aviv University's Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies. "Nevertheless, the U.S. is willing to publicly support this relationship."
The U.S. sees both close allies as key for stability in the Middle East.
Israeli jets have been training in Turkish air space since 1996, as the skies over Israel are too narrow and lie in the path of millions of birds migrating between Europe and Africa, news agencies said.
"Given the limited training area in Israeli skies - which would be further reduced in the event of the creation of a Palestinian state -having this alternative is extremely important," said Rubin.
Israel is participating with 10 F-16s, two tanker planes and several helicopters. The U.S. has six F-16s, while Turkey is participating with 46 warplanes. The planes are using Konya Air Base as their hub, some 260 kilometers (162 miles) south of Ankara, the capital.
The "wargames" include live bombing and strafing and simulated surface-to-air missiles (SAM) designed to confront aggressors.
The aerial battles are recorded on tape so pilots can study actions or errors that could have killed them in real combat. The drill will continue through June 29.
The Turkish Air Force said more allied and friendly nations were expected to use the Konya range in the coming years. The range is planned to be fully developed into a simulated hostile environment in 2004.
Turkey has always tried to maintain a balance in its relations with regional Muslim countries and the Jewish state, Western news agencies say.
"This exercise both strengthens and shapes Turkey's position in the Middle East," said Nihat Ali Ozcan of Ankara's Eurasia Strategic Research Center. "Turkey wants to have a foot in the European Union and follow a foreign policy within the U.S., Israel and Turkey triangle."
There is some opposition from Islamic circles to Israel and in particular to the air maneuvers. Konya is a stronghold for the pro-Islamic Virtue Party.
State Minister Tunca Toskay ruled out on Monday the use of uranium shells and said the planes would not fly lower than 60 meters (200 feet) above residential areas.
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