A Turkish company has agreed on the production of a domestic jet engine with British company, and the technology behind this development belongs to Turkey, Chairman of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TBMM), Energy, Natural Resources, Information and Technology Commission Ziya Altunyaldız said.
"It's a very important agreement. These efforts will take us step by step to the point we want in the defense industry. Positioning itself as an important player in the region and the entire world with its security, Turkey will take its place in the league of defense industry [producers] to establish peace and security," Altunyaldız asserted.
According to information obtained by Anadolu Agency (AA), Kale Group and Rolls-Royce, one of the biggest aircraft engine producers in the world, have recently agreed to develop jet engines in Turkey.
With a 51 percent stake owned by Kale Group and 49 percent by Rolls-Royce, these two companies will establish a joint venture to develop aircraft engines that the country needs on civilian and military platforms, particularly in the Turkish TF-X national jet fighter project. With the joint venture, Turkey is expected to become one of the few aircraft engine manufacturers in the world that is also a leading exporter.
Altunyaldız stressed that defense is the locomotive of industry in the country.
He said that Turkey is in a rising position in terms of self-sufficiency in the defense industry with the production of domestic tanks, helicopters and armed and unarmed, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs).
Citing that Turkey meets 60 percent of its needs in the defense industry domestically, Altunyaldız said exports are made to certain countries.
Pointing out that important projects are also carried out in critical areas, Altunyaldız said Turkey is engaged in projects for the production of a national fighter jet and regional passenger aircraft in the near future. "These projects will facilitate the realization of Turkey's aspirations in the defense industry and secure Turkey's place in the global defense industry to institute peace and security."
Highlighting that the domestic jet engine project is a big and exciting step, Altunyaldız said research and development (R&D) and design are in progress and that the decision regarding a location will be made after a certain stage. He also added that work on the project has commenced and production will take three-to-five years.
