ANKARA – President Recep Tayyip Erdogan says Turkey will develop its ownfighter jets after the United States removed Ankara from the F-35 programover its purchase of Russian S-400 missile defense system.
Erdogan made the remarks at the commissioning of the fourth ship of theMILGEM project, a Turkish national warship program, in Istanbul on Sunday.
The Turkish president said he believes the new ship, TCG Kinaliada, “willmake us more powerful in the sea.”
According to Erdogan, Turkey is one of the 10 countries which can make awarship with its own means.
“We are building and sending off our MILGEM ships with determination. Withthe experience we gathered in the MILGEM project, we increased the rate ofindigenousness to 70 percent,” Erdogan said.
Referring to the US decision to remove Turkey from the F-35 program,Erdogan said Ankara was determined to have its own fighter jets.
“We will accomplish to make our own fighter jets, just like we did with ourattack helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles and armed unmanned aerialvehicles,” he said. “Its time is close.”
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He also stressed that his country is resolved to manufacture indigenousvehicles. “Our aim is to completely remove foreign dependence in thedefense industry, by 2023,” Erdogan said.[image: PressTV-‘Delivery of 2nd S-400 battery to Turkey completed’]link
“The troubles we have been going through for the past six years are toprevent Turkey from achieving these goals. As I’ve always been saying, theywill not be successful,” he added.
Ankara and Washington have been at loggerheads over Turkey’s purchase ofRussia’s S-400, which the United States says are not compatible with NATOdefenses and pose a threat to Lockheed Martin F-35 stealth fighter jets.
The United States removed Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program, a movethat had been long threatened, after Ankara began accepting the delivery ofthe advanced Russian missile defense system in July.
