MESOP BREAKING : US authorizes $683 million smart bomb deal for Turkey

The Pentagon has authorized a multimillion dollar deal to sell smart bombs to Ankara as the Turkish government escalates tensions across the Middle East.

Washington has chosen to award a $682.9 million contract which will provide Ankara with an undisclosed number of smart bombs, Sputnik reported. “The deal came timely as we are deeply engaged in asymmetrical warfare and need smart bombs,” one Turkish military official said, according to Defense News. The contract was granted to Ellwood National Forge and General Dynamics Ordnance and Tactical Systems, and includes the sale of an unnamed number of BLU-109 bunker busters. These bombs contain roughly 550 pounds of a high explosive compound known as tritonal, and thanks to tail fuse delays, the bomb’s detonation is stalled until it reaches its intended underground target. This is the first such sale to Turkey by US defense contractors, and Ankara expects the transaction to be completed by 2020. www.mesop.de