Turkish arms subsidiary rebrands after sales to Israel sparks Iran war backlash
When the Turkish arms company Repkon announced that it was entering the US market in late 2024, the move was hailed by both the Turkish government and the defence industry.
At the time, Turkey's public news agency said the struggling US arms industry, long dominated by American corporations, had found relief through Turkish defence companies signing agreements to build production lines for 155mm artillery rounds.
The agreements saw Repkon's US subsidiary, Repkon USA, sign separate deals to design and build a production line for 155mm artillery combustible cartridge cases in Texas.
A year and a half later, however, the once-heavy praise heaped on Repkon USA by Turkish officials and agencies appears to have evaporated, with many now seeking to distance themselves from the company.
On Tuesday, Repkon USA announced that it had changed its name and would now be known as Paligen Technologies, Inc., describing itself as a US-based defence contractor.
The abrupt name change came days after the US State Department said that US Secretary of State Marco Rubio was bypassing congressional review to approve a munitions sale to Israel.
Repkon USA was listed as the principal contractor for 12,000 BLU-110A/B general-purpose 1,000-pound bomb bodies, with an estimated total cost of $151.8m.
BLU-110 bombs have been widely used by Israel during its war on Gaza, which Amnesty International, Human Rights Watch, B’Tselem and a United Nations commission have concluded amounts to genocide or genocidal acts.
Friday's announcement sparked an immediate backlash on Turkish social media, with critics lamenting that a Turkish subsidiary was now supplying weapons to Israel during its war on Iran.
'Let's just say a US company that refuses a US government sale won't stay in business long'
- US defence industry expert
Protesters demonstrated outside the company's headquarters in Istanbul, accusing it of being an accomplice to the "murderous USA and Israel".
Turkish opposition MPs filed official inquiries with the government to determine whether the company’s March 2025 purchase of General Dynamics-Ordnance and Tactical Systems, known as GD-OTS Garland Operations - which produces the bomb bodies destined for Israel - had been approved by or coordinated with the Turkish government.
While Ankara has so far remained silent on the issue, it has also made no supportive statements about the company, suggesting a degree of discomfort.
There also appear to be mixed feelings about a private company that excelled in arms production in line with government ambitions for the defence industry, only to become embroiled in a sale to Israel.
Repkon's parent company in Turkey then went on the defensive. In an official statement, the company said it had no say in the transaction and denied responsibility.
Could Turkey have refused the sale?
Many in Turkey have now questioned whether the company could have refused the sale to Israel.
The picture is somewhat complicated. Rich Outzen, a nonresident senior fellow at the Atlantic Council and an expert on military affairs, said a company cannot be forced to sell ordnance through a foreign military sale.
He said subsidiaries, in this case Repkon USA, make their own decisions, and most companies prefer to sell.
"If [the] Repkon mothership objected to a Repkon USA deal, it would depend on the management rules between the two. But generally speaking, subsidiaries make their own business decisions,' he added.
A Repkon official told MEE that business decisions were largely taken by its subsidiary, whose management consists almost entirely of US citizens.
The official said the proposed sale was a transaction for bomb bodies conducted with the US military, and that the end user was "the US military," not Israel. The official also argued that, as a matter of procedure, one cannot simply say no to the US government.
As this was an emergency sale, it may be true that the transaction was rushed by the US government. However, another sale announced by the US Defense Security Cooperation Agency in February 2025 indicates that Repkon USA, along with Boeing, was a sole contractor for a large munitions and guidance kit sale to Israel worth $675.7m.
The deal included 201 units of MK 83 MOD 4/MOD 5 general-purpose 1,000-pound bomb bodies and 4,799 units of BLU-110A/B general-purpose 1,000-pound bomb bodies, which were produced by Repkon USA.
The remaining guidance kits were to be manufactured by Boeing. Deliveries were scheduled to begin in 2028.
The Repkon official said the company acquired Garland Operations in March and that the latest transaction had already been arranged by General Dynamics before the takeover.
Asked about the sudden name change this week, the official said the company wanted to underline the fact that it is an American corporation operating under US law.
The official also argued that anti-boycott laws in the US prevent the subsidiary from refusing sales to Israel. Several US laws do indeed prohibit boycotts of Israel, including regulations enforced through the Office of Antiboycott Compliance.
A US defence industry expert, speaking on condition of anonymity, said while Repkon USA could theoretically reject transactions involving Israel, the consequences of saying no to the US government under the Foreign Military Sales system would likely be severe.
"Let's just say a US company that refuses a US government sale won't stay in business long," the expert said.
This article was sourced from Middle East Eye.
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