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                Missile Attack on Helicopter Rocks Turkish Army

   by Dorian Jones

   A video produced by the PKK Kurdish rebel group appears to show a
   carefully executed ambush of a Turkish attack helicopter.

   The authenticity of the video has not been confirmed. The army contends
   that the helicopter crashed because of technical reasons.

   But retired Turkish brigadier Haldun Solmazturk said such an attack
   would have far reaching consequences.

   "It is extremely significant from a military perspective," he said.
   "This fact would change tactics of the overall approach, the balance of
   power between PKK and Turkish army, and it would have an effect on the
   morale of the Turkish soldiers."

   Adding to Turkish military concerns is the apparent failure of the
   helicopter's defense system, said analyst Metehan Demir, a former
   Turkish military pilot.

   "The downed helicopter was not alone during the operation," Demir said.
   "There was another helicopter just behind the helicopter, and this
   helicopter was not warned by the defense system that the missile was
   coming. This is also very strange, which means it looks like the system
   was very new used by the PKK, and there could be more similar missiles
   in the hands of the PKK."

   Analysts said the missile used in the attack appeared to be
   Russian-made, but it remained unclear how the PKK obtained it and how
   many the group has.

   ''Decades of combat

   The PKK has been fighting the Turkish state for greater minority rights
   for more than three decades. Fighting resumed last year after a
   collapse in peace talks.

   Solmazturk, who fought the PKK throughout the 1990s, said the
   helicopter downing would undermine the Turkish army's war against the
   rebels.

   "In principle, it's a game-changer," he said. "Army operations are
   mainly based on tactical air support, and the only available air asset
   in the inventory of the Turkish army is attack helicopters. And even
   they are in very limited numbers. So the presence of anti-aircraft
   missiles would very adversely affect the Turkish army's anti-terror
   operations."

   Analysts said the army relies mainly on eight or nine twin-engined
   Super Cobra helicopters, one of which was shot down, and may have 30
   single-engine Cobras, which are nearly obsolete.

   Analyst Demir said the army would now have to adopt riskier tactics.

   "Turkey will divert its operations from air to land," he said, but the
   PKK has known the area "very well for many decades" and has planted
   explosive devices "even in the caves in the area. ... Therefore, Turkey
   has to be very careful on its ground operations."

   Observers warned that the prospect of curtailed helicopter use would
   most likely spur the PKK to step up its operations, which will add to
   the pressures on the military that is fighting in the countryside and
   in costly street-to-street warfare in the predominantly Kurdish
   southeast.
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   [1]http://www.voanews.com/content/missile-attack-helicopter-rocks-turki
   sh-army/3334320.html

References

   1. http://www.voanews.com/content/missile-attack-helicopter-rocks-turkish-army/3334320.html