The signing ceremony between Kale Group and Rolls-Royce was held on May 8th, 2017- the day before the IDEF event- at Ritz Carlton Hotel İstanbul.

 The Vice President of Kale Group Mr. Osman Okyay attended the signature ceremony on behalf of the Kale Group and Director of the Defense Group of British Rolls-Royce Company Mr. Chris Cholerton attended the ceremony. Kale Group’s President & CEO Mrs. Zeynep Bodur Okyay and British Ambassador to Turkey Mr. Richard Moore attended at the ceremony as well.

The name of the new company to be founded with a share ratio of 51% Kale Group and 49% Rolls-Royce was determined to be TAEC (Turkish Air Engine Company). With TAEC, Kale Group and Rolls-Royce aim to develop the aircraft engines required by Turkey’s civilian and military projects, primarily for the Turkish Fighter Program. 

Taking the floor at the ceremony, Kale Group Vice President Mr. Osman Okyay stated that Kale Group entered the Defense and Aerospace Industry in 1987 as part of the Stinger Missile Consortium and underlined that the company acquired a significant amount of design and production capability up to date through major global and local programs, adding that this partnership built with the Rolls-Royce will be a breakthrough in the Turkish Aerospace and Defense Industry. Mr. Okyay continued: “Today we are greatly pleased and proud to unite our energy with one of the world’s greatest air engine manufacturers Rolls-Royce”. Emphasizing that Kale Group was the contractor of the Turbojet Engine Development Project which is one of the milestones of Turkey’s indigenous engine production efforts, Mr. Okyay added that in the consequence of stride out the industry, it has been one of the most important factors leading them to a strategic partnership with the Rolls-Royce. Mr. Okyay continued, “We are experiencing the excitement of fulfilling our country’s strategic requirements for many years through this partnership that we have built.”

Director of Rolls-Royce’s Defense Group Mr. Chris Cholerton expressed that they were happy to seize the opportunity to collaborate with Kale Group within the scope of the Turkish Fighter Program to develop an indigenous engine, the Intellectual Property Rights of which will entirely be possessed by Turkey and which will not be subject to export restrictions. Mr. Cholerton stated that as Rolls-Royce, they took the initiative to establish an Advanced Manufacturing Technology Centre (AMTC) in 2015 and added that Kale Group put forth Turkey’s faith in becoming a global player in Defense and Aerospace industry. Mr. Cholerton continued, “Turkey’s enthusiasm in this area thrills us as well. We believe that we will be playing a key role in Turkey’s establishing a worldwide powerful Defense and Aerospace Industry.”

British Ambassador to Turkey, Mr. Richard Moore, mentioned that this agreement is of importance both for Turkey and England. Stating that the countries have always been in close cooperation and allies, Ambassador Mr. Moore added, “This friendship needs to be represented especially in the Defense Industry. Building a partnership with a giant company such as Rolls-Royce is a significant move. England gives full support to this partnership. I congratulate both companies.”

 TAEC to Employ 400 Engineers

The TAEC Company, which will be employing 400 engineers, aims to fulfil the engine requirements of not only the Turkish Fighter Program (TF-X) but also for all civilian and military platforms in Turkey. Aiming to reveal an exportable engine, this new establishment will launch activities initially for developing a jet engine which will be the main component of the TF-X program. Within this scope, an R&D center will be built in Istanbul and following these steps a production facility is intended to be built. Aiming to manufacture an engine for the TF-X program from square one, TAEC is expected to launch the test flight with the developed engine in 2023, if everything is on track. Following a long design, development and test process, the first engines with completed certification are planned to be put into serial production in 2030.