MAROON BERET ÜSTEĞMEN

The Maroon Berets (MB) came into the public spotlight when they captured the PKK(kurdish terrorist organization) leader Abdullah Öcalan in Kenya. Special Forces in 2004, the World Championship in Germany, 26 special forces troops were among the first.

PRODUCTION OF F-35 AIR FIGHTERS IN TURKEY

On 12 July 2002, Turkey became the seventh international partner in the JSF Project, joining the United Kingdom, Italy, the Netherlands, Canada, Denmark and Norway. On 25 January 2007, Turkey signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) for involvement in F-35 production. The Turkish Air Force is planning to initially order 116 F-35A "CTOL/Air Force versions" at a reported cost of $11 billion. It is reported that the aircraft will be produced under license in Turkey by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

A Letter of Intent (LOI) was signed between TAI and Northrop Grumman ISS (NGISS) International on 6 February 2007. With the LOI, TAI becomes the second source for the F-35 Lightning II center fuselage during the JSF Signing. The number of center fuselages to be produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries will be determined depending on the number of F-35s Turkey will procure and the number of F-35s to be produced worldwide. The LOI represents a potential value in excess of $3 billion. Northrop Grumman currently produces all F-35 center fuselages at its F-35 assembly facility in Palmdale, California.

TAI of Turkey is one of the two international suppliers to Northrop Grumman (the other being Denmark). On 10 December 2007, the Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) was authorized by the Northrop Grumman to commence fabricating subassemblies for the first two F-35 production aircraft. The subassemblies composite components and aircraft access doors will be used in the F-35 center fuselage, a major section of the aircraft being produced by Northrop Grumman, a principal member of the Lockheed Martin-led F-35 global industry team.

It is also anticipated that TAI after 2013 will also produce 100% of the F-35 under license from Lockheed Martin Corporation, as was also the case with the F-16 Fighting Falcon program Peace Onyx I and II. Turkey also intends to incorporate in the future several Turkish designed and manufactured electronic systems into the F-35 platform.

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