A series of activities took place within the coverage of the said visit. The activities commenced with the coming into effect of the contract signed between the Undersecretariat for Defence Industries (SSM) and TUSAS on the completion of the assembly of the Turkish Indigenous UAV, that is completely designed by Turkish engineers with domestic resources and continued with the hitting of the first rivet by the Minister of National Defence Gönül and Minister of Transportation Y?ld?r?m for the F-16 Peace Onyx IV Programme. Within the coverage of the contract signed on 5 December 2008 between TUSA? and Lockheed Martin as the main contractor for the F-16 Peace Onyx IV Programme, the final assembly, test flights and delivery procedures for the provision of 30 new generation F-16s will take place at TUSAS facilities.



Subsequently, passing to the assembly area for the Turkish Primary and Basic Trainer Aircraft (HÜRKUS) that is being developed by TUSA? as the first project to be designed with all of the features of the most advanced air vehicle in our country, the first assembly procedure was realised by the Minister of National Defence Gönül, the Minister of Transportation Yildirim, Undersecretary of SSM Murad Bayar and representatives of the Ministry of National Defence and the armed forces.



The visit continued at the main assembly production and assembly hanger whereby Minister Gönül and Minister Yildirim were briefed on the projects carried out by TUSAS. Afterwards, the opening of the second phase of the Composite Advanced Technologies Production Facility took place. The facility has the capability to build the Joint Strike Fighter (JSF/F-35) Programme in which the centre fuselage will be assembled only at TUSAS facilities outside of the United States according to the agreement signed between TUSAS and Northrop Grumman in February 2007. After the opening of the second phase of this Facility, Minister Vecdi Gönül pressed the button for the concrete mixer thus pouring the first concrete for TUSAS’s flight line hangers and infrastructure construction.



In his remarks at the opening ceremony Minister Gönül noted that in meeting the requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces through the contributions of domestic industry, the supply industry as well as medium and small-scale enterprises had played an important role. Within this context SSM had realized the compulsory industry contribution and offset applications thereby enabling the active participation of the domestic industry in these projects. Stating that TUSAS’s sales had increased tenfold to 500 million USD during 2004-2010, Gönül continued by saying, “The sales of the Turkish defence industry as of the end of 2008 have reached 2.3 billion USD with total exports of 780 million USD. The rate of meeting the requirement of the Turkish Armed Forces through domestic means again as of the end of 2008 has been 44.2 percent.”



Minister Gönül concluded his remarks by emphasizing that the world-class UAV development project with a 17-metre wing span that can stay airborne for 24 hours is being implemented with the work of Turkish engineers and that it had reached the final product stage.



Addressing the participants, the Undersecretary for Defence Industries Bayar provided information on the projects being carried out by TUSAS. The Undersecretary stated that within the coverage of the F-35 JSF, industrial contributions foreseen in a 25-year period had exceeded 7 billion USD and that TUSAS had a share of nearly 4 billion in the production of the mid-fuselage of the F-35 JSF. Indicating that the maiden flight of the national UAV project would take place in the coming months, Bayar added that the first and second prototype T-38 Training Aircraft Avionics Modernization Project is planned to be delivered within this year. Undersecretary Bayar also indicated that within the HÜRKUS Project, the first prototype maiden flight would take place in 2011 on the 100th anniversary of the Air Force Command.



The said facilities of TUSAS consists of assembly and modification hangers that will meet various programs as well as flight procedure hangers that are a part of the infrastructure of these facilities. The aircraft assembly facility will also include an area of 8,000 m² that can carry out assembly and modifications of 21 F-16 aircrafts at the same time. The remaining fight line will meet operational requirements and the “Flight Procedure Hangers” will consist of six hangers that can accommodate 12 aircraft or helicopters within a 5,400 m² area. In addition to the existing hangers, the additional 1,000 m² hanger will mostly be used in UAV test flights.



With the conclusion of the planned investments for 2010, TUSA? will have a closed area of approximately 260,000 m² on a 5,000,000 m² land at Akinci, Ankara. Following site delivery after the signing of the contract, the facility is planned to open for operations during the fourth quarter of 2010.