ANKARA [MENL] -- Germany's suspension of weapons exports to Israel could
hurt Turkey's M-60 main battle tank upgrade program.Industry sources said the German suspension of defense exports includes
components for the engine and transmission of the engine to be installed in
the M-60A1 tank. The components are manufactured by the German firms MTU and
Renk.The state-owned Israel Military Industries has won a $688 million
project to upgrade 170 Turkish M-60 tanks. The project is meant to complete
the modernization within 18 months.The Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung reported that MTU and Renk were
chosen to supply the engines for the M-60 project. The German newspaper said
their exports to Israel have been halted amid a decision by Berlin to
protest the Israeli military campaign in the West Bank.
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