Defence Turkey: Mr. Jason Lambert, first of all we would like to thank you for your time. The contract signed between the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) and TAI and the main sub-contractor Sikorsky and other domestic sub-contractors within the scope of the General Purpose Helicopter Program officially entered into force in June 2016 upon the completion of the efforts for USA’s export licenses.  The official launch of the contract was behind the planned schedule. What was the cause of this delay? Could you briefly assess this process?

Thank you for the opportunity to discuss the program. The Turkish Utility Helicopter Program (TUHP) will establish the Turkish Defense Industry as a global leader in Rotorcraft production given the unpreceded volume of technology that will be transferred to Turkey. You are correct that the official launch of the Program was delayed beyond the initial anticipated schedule. Given the TUHP scope and strategic importance, both the U.S. Government and the Turkish Government provided a significant level of oversight to ensure that the Export Licenses were structured in a manner to enable the full execution of the Program.  I am pleased to say that the collaboration between the U.S. Government, Turkish Government and Sikorsky ensured that we obtained the export licenses to successfully launch the program in June 2016.  These licenses will serve as the foundation for our industrial partnership which will last for at least three decades.