Hurriyet Daily News - Türkiye, a member of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, will gain at least USD 12 billion by the end of the F-35 project in 2039, a senior executive of the U.S. aerospace industries company Lockheed Martin has said at the 11th International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) 2013 being held from May 7 to 10 in Istanbul.
“We planned to build 3,100 jets by 2039 in the framework of the [F-35] project. It means a business worth around USD 12 billion for Türkiye,” Steve O’Bryan, the Vice President of F-35 Business Development at Lockheed Martin, said on May 8.
Türkiye is one of nine countries that are part of a U.S.-led consortium to build the F-35 fighter. The others are Britain, Canada, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Norway and Denmark. O’Bryan stated that if Türkiye was not one of nine provider countries of the F-35 project, they could not have achieved it.
“Türkiye obtained a contract worth USD 300 million from this project even though it has not made any jet orders. However, this amount will increase to USD 1 billion when jet orders start to be delivered,” he said.
Aside from taking part in the F-35 program, Türkiye is also working on a number of indigenous defense projects, including one that involves designing and producing a new fighter aircraft.