WASHINGTON, Feb. 6 (UPI) -- A Turkish aerospace company has signed on as a source of fuselage sections for the U.S.-led Joint Strike Fighter (JSF) program, it was announed in the United States.
Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed a Letter of Intent with Northrop Grumman to act as a second source for the center fuselage section of the next-generation F-35 Lightning II, Northrop announced Tuesday.
TAI has been producing composite components and various sub-assemblies for the JSF center fuselage under a $100 million long-term agreement with Northrop. It will turn out a minimum of 400 center fuselages once low-rate production begins.
"Northrop Grumman is committed to growing international participation in the F-35 program by identifying best-value sourcing opportunities in F-35 partner nations," said Janis Pamiljans, vice president and F-35 program manager for Northrop Grumman. "This Letter of Intent is the culmination of an evaluation process that ultimately found Tusas to be the best value supplier for the co-production of the F-35 center fuselage."
The letter was formally signed at a ceremony in Ankara that was attended by Turkey's defense minister, Vecdi Gonul.
The JSF is approaching the low-rate production phase. Flight-testing of the first production unit of the conventional version of the warplane is under way in the United States. Once in full production, the Lightning II will replace an array of land-based and naval planes used by the U.S. military and allied nations.
