Turkey joins F-35 JSF project

FORT WORTH, Texas (AFX) – Lockheed Martin Corp said Turkey has signed up for the Lockheed Martin Corp-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter project.
Over the life of the program’s System Development and Demonstration phase, Turkey will contribute around 175 mln USD to the F-35’s development.
Turkey has become the seventh international partner to sign up for the
program, joining the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Denmark and Norway.
Australia also has announced its intention to participate.
Lockheed Martin is developing the F-35 in conjunction with its principal partners, Northrop Grumman Corp and BAE Systems PLC. Pratt & Whitney and General Electric Corp are developing two separate but interchangeable propulsion systems.
“We already have an excellent, long-term working relationship with both the Turkish government and the aerospace industries of Turkey, thanks to our mutual work on the F-16 program,” said Tom Burbage, Lockheed Martin executive vice president and general manager of the F-35 JSF program.