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Weapons of Mass Destruction in the Middle East

Turkey

Weapons of Mass Destruction Capabilities and Programs1

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Content Updated: April 2006
Page updated: November 2006

Nuclear
[2]
  • No evidence of a nuclear weapons program.
  • Plans to build approximately five nuclear power plants by the year 2015 to supply a total of 5,000MW. The first plant is to be constructed in the Sinop province.
  • 5MW research reactor at the Cekmece Nuclear Research and Training Centre and 250KW research reactor at the Istanbul Technical Institute; both facilities are under IAEA safeguards.
  • 15 B-61 nuclear gravity bombs deployed by the United States at Inçirlik Air Base.
  • Ratified the NPT on 4/17/80; ratified the CTBT on 2/16/2000.
Chemical
[3]
  • No evidence of a chemical weapons program.
  • Ratified the Chemical Weapons Convention on 5/12/97.
Biological
[4]
  • No evidence of a biological weapons program.
  • Ratified the BTWC on 11/5/74.
Ballistic missiles [5]
  • 120 MGM-140 Army Tactical Missile System (ATACMS) with 160km range and 560kg payload, and 12 missile launchers.
  • Project J in development with unknown range and payload.
Cruise missiles [6]
  • Harpoon/RGM-84A with 120km range and 220kg payload.
Other delivery systems [7]
  • Fighter and ground attack aircraft include: 121 F-16C, 24 F-16D, 93 F-4E (65 in service with planned upgrades to F-4E Phantom 2000), 54 F-4E Phantom 2000, 63 F-5A/B, 44 NF-5A/B, and cooperation in the F-35 JSF project.
  • 50 Popeye-1 air-launched standoff missiles with 100km range and 360kg payload, to be delivered by Israel by the year 2000. May purchase an additional 100.
  • Plans to co-produce Popeye-2 air-launched standoff missiles with 305km range and 360kg payload, in cooperation with the Israeli firm Rafael.
  • Ground systems include artillery and rocket launchers.
Unmanned Aerial Vehicles (UAV) [8]
  • GNAT-750 with a 48 hour flight time and 150kg payload.
  • Harpy UAV with 500km range and unknown payload.
  • Heron UAV with a 1,000km range and 250kg payload.
  • CL-89 UAV with unknown range and payload.
  • Alleged development of indigenous UAV systems.
Sources:
  1. This chart summarizes data available from public sources. Precise assessment of a state's capabilities is difficult because most weapons of mass destruction (WMD) programs remain secret and cannot be verified independently.
  2. Reports on nuclear proliferation do not identify Turkey as a country of concern. E.g., Office of Technology Assessment (OTA), US Congress Technologies Underlying Weapons of Mass Destruction (Washington, DC: US Government Printing Office, August, 12/93), p. 239. Beatrice Fisher, et al., Handbook of Nuclear Countries, 1992/1993 (Berlin: Lexikographisches Institut, 1992), pp. 222-23. International Atomic Energy Agency, "Situation on 31 December 1996 with respect to the conclusion of safeguards agreements between the Agency and non-nuclear-weapon States in connection with the NPT," [Online] http://www.iaea.or.at/worldatom/program/safeguards/96tables/safenpt.html. Nuclear Engineering International, 1998 World Nuclear Industry Handbook (Essex, UK: Wilmington Publishing Ltd., 1998), p. 116. "Offers for the First Turkish Nuclear Center," Foro Nuclear FLASH (Madrid), Number 370, 11/1/97, p. 8. Mark Hibbs, "Turkey's Pro-U.S. Regime Extends Bidding, Which May Boost Westinghouse Bid," Nucleonics Week, 9/4/97, pp. 7-9. For detailed information regarding Turkey's nuclear development, see Mustafa Kibaroglu, "Turkey's Quest for Peaceful Nuclear Power," The Nonproliferation Review (Spring-Summer 1997), pp. 33-44. On the current deployment of nuclear weapons in Turkey by the United States, see William M. Arkin, Robert S. Norris, and Joshua Handler, Taking Stock: Worldwide Nuclear Deployments 1998 (Washington, DC: Natural Resources Defense Council, 3/98) pp. 14, 25, 78-79. "Status of Multilateral Arms Regulations and Disarmament Agreements," UN Department for Disarmament Affairs, visited 3/27/06, [Online] http://disarmament2.un.org/treatystatus.nsf. On 2006 plans for the building of nuclear power plants, see Karl Vick, "Energy, Iran Spur Turkey's Revival of Nuclear Plans," Washington Post, 3/7/06, p. A14. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, "Turkish Prime Minister Interviewed on Prophet Cartoons, Hamas, Nuclear Program," Doha Al-Jazirah Satellite Channel Television (transcript), 2/10/06, in Open Source Center Document GMP20060210564003. "Turkey Plans Nuclear Power Plants in Diversification Strategy," RIA Novosti, 2/15/06, [Online] http://cns.miis.edu/e-DocLibrary/2006/Feb/16/ef14rian.pdf. "Turkey Projects Nuclear Energy Investment of 5,000 Megawatt to Meet Demands," Ankara Anatolia, 2/9/06, in Open Source Center Document GMP20060209612009.
  3. Reports on chemical weapons proliferation do not identify Turkey as a country of concern. E.g., OTA, p. 239. According to the Sussex/Harvard Information Bank on Chemical and Biological Warfare Armament and Arms Limitation, Turkey was the only country possessing chemical weapons during the First World War that did not use them. However, the Sussex/Harvard Information Bank notes that Turkey was reported to have used chemical weapons against Kurdish separatists in 1988. Cited by Julian Perry Robinson "Chemical-Weapons Proliferation in the Middle East," in Non-Conventional-Weapons Proliferation In The Middle East, Efraim Karsh, Martin S. Navias, and Philip Sabin, eds. (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1993), pp. 90, 76.
  4. Reports on biological weapons proliferation do not identify Turkey as a country of concern. E.g., OTA, p. 239. Graham S. Pearson, "The Threat of Deliberate Disease in the Twenty First Century," Biological Weapons Proliferation: Reasons for Concern, Courses of Action (Washington, DC: Henry L. Stimson Center, 1/98) Report No. 24, p. 26.
  5. "Missile and Space Launch Capabilities of Selected Countries," The Nonproliferation Review, forthcoming 1998. Duncan Lennox, ed., "Country Inventory – In Service," and "Offensive Weapons, Turkey," Jane's Strategic Weapons Systems Issue 24, 5/97. "Lockheed Division Sells ATACMS To Turkey," Defense News, 11/11/96-11/17/96, p. 27. Although the United States is to supply 120 ATACMS to Turkey, it is not clear how many of these have been delivered. Joshua Williams, "World Missile Chart," Carnegie Endowment for International Peace, 2006, [Online] http://www.carnegieendowment.org/npp/ballisticmissilechart.cfm. "Worldwide Ballistic Missile Inventories," Arms Control Association, 5/06, [Online] http://www.armscontrol.org/pdf/missiles.pdf. "Turkey," Middle East Military Balance (Tel Aviv: Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies), 5/14/05, p. 9, [Online] http://www.tau.ac.il/jcss/balance/turkey.pdf.
  6. Lennox.
  7. Lennox. The Military Balance 1996/97 (London: International Institute for Strategic Studies, 1997), p. 72. Arieh O'Sullivan, "Israel, Turkey to Make Popeye Missiles," Jerusalem Post, 5/18/97, [Online] http://www.jpost.com.il/. Metehan Demir, " Turkish-Israeli Military Ties Shake Middle East," Aviation Week & Space Technology, 6/23/97, p. 35. Metehan Demir, " Turkey Seeks More Popeye Missiles from Israel," Jerusalem Post, 12/5/97, [Online] http://www.jpost.co.il/. "Turkey," Middle East Military Balance (Tel Aviv: Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies), 5/14/05, p. 15, 19. Alon Ben David, "Israeli Industry is 'Back to Business' with Turkey," Jane's Defense Weekly, 5/18/05. Lale Sariibrahimoglu, "Turkey Formally Joins JSF Project," Jane's Defense Weekly, 7/17/02.
  8. "Turkey," Middle East Military Balance (Tel Aviv: Jaffee Center for Strategic Studies), 5/14/05, p. 18. "General Atomic GNAT-750 Lofty View" Federation of American Scientists, 11/27/99, [Online] http://www.fas.org/irp/program/collect/gnat-750.htm. "Heron," Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd., 2002, [Online] http://www.iai.co.il/Default.aspx?docID=16382&FolderID=18900&lang=en. "Harpy Loitering Weapon," Israel Aircraft Industries, Ltd., 2002, [Online] http://www.iai.co.il/Default.aspx?docID=16153&FolderID=16170&lang=en. Lale Sariibrahimoglu, "Turkish UAV Contract Goes to IUP," Jane's Defense Weekly, 4/27/05.
Originally prepared by Michael Barletta and Erik Jorgensen, May 1998;
Updated by Sammy Salama and Alexis Zeiger, April 2006.
© Center for Nonproliferation Studies, Monterey Institute of International Studies. April 2006


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