Speaking in İzmir on Friday, Vestel CEO Ömer Yüngül said the project, which has cost around $20 billion, is now in its final stage and that Vestel expects to start production of the aircraft following a tender expected to be held by the Turkish Air Forces in the coming months. Test flights of the aircraft were carried out with two models -- one of which crashed during a test in October -- but Yüngül said there were no remaining problems to this end. He said the plane has the necessary technological infrastructure to compete with its global rivals in the defense market. The project is overseen by Vestel’s defense industry subsidiary Vestel Savunma Sanayi ve Ticaret A.Ş. Vestel has been working on the project, the largest ever carried out by the company, for the last six years.
“We are currently waiting for a tender that is very important for us. A successful tender will be a recommendation for similar projects in the future,” Yüngül said, adding that they expect to open to foreign markets following the completion of the project.
