World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkey's Under-secretariat for Defense Industries and American aerospace manufacturer Pratt & Whitney have signed a letter of intent for the establishment of an F135 engines center for F35 fighter jets in Turkey.

The deal covers the final assembly, check and maintenance, repair, overhaul and upgrade capabilities for the engines in Turkey and has been approved by the US government.

The Turkish Under-secretariat for Defense Industries said in a statement on Tuesday that the “letter of intent is an important milestone of a long-term cooperation between the Undersecretariat and Pratt & Whitney and also shows Turkey’s commitment to a Joint Strike Fighter Program, as well as Pratt & Whitney’s trust in Turkish capabilities.”

"Turkey’s primary aim is to provide benefit to the program by assembling F135 engines and providing service to the F-35 users in the region via these facilities," the statement said.

Turkey has had much experience in fighter engine handling from an F-16 Program and has a long-term vision to sustain the experience and provide benefits to the F-35 program.

Turkey, which has been in the Joint Strike Fighter program from the Concept Development Phase, has contributed to System Development and Demonstration and Production Sustainment and Follow-on Development phases as a partner nation.

Turkey has recently placed an order for the first two F-35 jets of a fleet of 100 F-35A aircraft on 5 May of this year, and plans to deploy the aircraft in Turkey by 2019.