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Milliyet - Türkiye’s Kale Group and US aircraft engine manufacturer Pratt & Whitney will jointly produce components for F-135 engine, powering the F-35 fighter. The ground breaking ceremony for the USD 60 million manufacturing plant to be built in the Aegean Free Zone (ESBAS) located in Izmir, took place on Saturday with the attendance of President Abdullah Gul, Minister of State Mehmet Aydin, Minister of Defence Vecdi Gonul, Minister of Industry and Trade Nihat Ergun, Minister of Culture and Tourism Ertugrul Gunay and US Ambassador to Ankara, Frank Ricciardone.
The plant is slated to enter production in the second quarter of 2012 and will manufacture engine parts for the F-35 fighter jet, creating employment for 700 people over the next five years, Kale said Group Vice President Osman Okyay.
David Galuska of Pratt & Whitney hailed the joint production plant as the starting point of a key partnership between Türkiye and the USA in the aerospace industry.
Türkiye is one of the nine partners of the Lockheed’s F-35 program, the next generation fighter aircraft with stealth capabilities.