ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
The last of the F-16 fighter jets produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Lockheed Martin as part of the Peace Onyx IV Program was delivered to the Turkish Air Force with a ceremony yesterday.
Speaking at the ceremony, Özcan Ertem, TAI’s Aircraft Group president, said the F-16 was a very important and special product, and that the program was successfully completed ahead of the deadline with the delivery of the 308th jet.
Jeff Babione, vice president of the F-16/F-22 Integrated Fighter Group, told the audience at the same ceremony that the program was a result of the devotion, dedication and hard work of TAI employees.
“I thank everyone who worked on the project, in the hope that our strong cooperation with TAI that started in 1984 will continue,” he said. Serdar Demirel, deputy undersecretary at Turkey’s Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), thanked U.S. and Turkish officials, as well as Lockheed Martin and TAI employees, who contributed to the F-16 project. TAI and Lockheed Martin launched the F-16 program in 1984 and TAI produced 308 fighter jets in the program.
December/12/2012