World Bulletin / News Desk

Turkey took delivery of its first F-35 fighter jet at a ceremony in Forth Worth, Texas, on Thursday.

Officials from the Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, Turkish companies involved in the project and Lockheed Martin representatives attended the ceremony at the Lockheed Martin Corporation in Texas.

Turkey has been in the F-35 program since the beginning of 1999. The Turkish defense industry has taken an active role in the production of aircraft; Alp Aviation, AYESAS, Kale Aviation, Kale Pratt & Whitney and Turkish Aerospace Industries have been producing parts of the first F-35 fighter jet.

The aircraft is expected to boost the Turkish Air Force with its superior capabilities such as latest sensors and an advanced radar system.

The first F-35 fighter jet delivered on Thursday will be assigned to the Luke Air Force Base in Arizona for pilot training.

The second aircraft will be delivered in the forthcoming days; the third and fourth one will be delivered in March 2019. These aircraft will stay in the U.S. during the Turkish pilots' training period.

The fifth and sixth fighter jets will be directly sent to Turkey once their productions are finalized in November 2019.

The F-35 fighter jets will be deployed in the 7th Main Jet Base Command in eastern Malatya province. Trainings will begin in 2020 after the arrival of aircraft in November 2019.