British air force chief visits Turkey

By Busra Nur Bilgic Cakmak

ANKARA(AA) – British Chief of the Air Staff Marshal Mike Wigston on Thursday visited Konya Air Base in central Turkey.

“Meeting with senior commanders and the UK Typhoon Detachment, he visited their Weapons and Tactics Facility and members of the Turkish Air Force,” the Royal Air Force (RAF) said on Twitter.

“@BAESystemsAir [British defense, security, and aerospace company] integrated with @TUSAS_TR [Turkish Aerospace] building Turkey’s next generation combat aircraft,” Wigston wrote on his Twitter.

“A national project the nation can be proud of, symbolic of the strength of the UK and Turkey bilateral relationship,” he added.

Turkish Aerospace also said on Twitter that they are pleased to host Wigston and delegates accompanying him.

Wigston later on visited Anitkabir, mausoleum of Turkey's founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, in Turkish capital Ankara.

A British Eurofighter Typhoon jet and two Turkish F-16s conducted their first training flight as part of #NATO training on Wednesday, according to a statement by Turkey's National Defense Ministry.

BAE Systems in 2017 signed a cooperation deal with Turkish Aerospace for providing consultancy for Turkey’s indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet MMU (Milli Muharip Ucak – the national combat aircraft).

In early October, Turkish Aerospace also signed a deal with UK-based Stirling Dynamics company for Turkey's indigenous jet trainer and light attack aircraft, named Hurjet.

Under the deal, the company will support TUSAS-TAI's engineering team until the Critical Design Review (CDR) stage.​​​​​​​