IGDIR
Turkey wants to locally produce a fighter jet by 2023 to fulfill its objective of meeting all defense equipments domestically, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said Sunday.
Yilmaz said in an interview that Turkey produced warships, advanced gunship attack helicopters, training aircraft and high precision cruise missiles completely or largely by its own domestic means.
He said that currently, 55 percent of Turkish Armed Forces’ needs were met domestically and plans were being made to increase this to a near hundred percent by 2023, the year the country marks the centennial of The Republic of Turkey.
"When we manage to produce a fighter jet, we will be able to meet all needs of our army on land, sea or air within Turkey. Hopefully, when we acheive this feat, we will be a fully independent country,” the minister said.
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