Defence Turkey: Mr. Aziz Sipahi, we thank you for taking the time to talk to us.  Vestel Defence Industry produces land, marine and aerial platforms, while its sister company AYESAŞ provides software, and electronic and electromechanical systems to its customers .  We would like to hear from you brief background information for the two companies and their scope of operations?

AYESAŞ [also known as “Aydın Yazılım”] was founded in 1990 as the Turkish subsidiary of a firm started in the U.S. by a Turkish entrepreneur.  AYESAŞ was founded specifically to address the need for mobile radar stations, which, at the time, comprised a top-priority Defence program for Turkey; later, L3 Communications purchased the company and became its owner.  In 2005, 60% of the shares of AYESAŞ were taken over by the Zorlu Group [parent company of Vestel Defence Industry] and currently, L3 Communications owns the remaining 40% of the shares.  Back in 2003, upon first deciding to enter into the Defence business, the Zorlu Group had also established Vestel Defence Industry.  As such, the group currently operates the two companies in the Defence business: AYESAŞ, a joint-venture, and Vestel Defence Industry, a wholly owned Turkish corporation.