Defense Industry Executive council convenes in Ankara

The Defense Industry Executive Council held a meeting yesterday in Ankara with the participation of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz and Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozel. In line with decisions of the meeting, Turkey will not wait for a decision from the US Congress with regard to sale of armed Predators. Instead, Turkey will develop its own unarmed air vehicle. Furthermore, the Long Range Region Air and Missile Defense System Project was discussed during the meeting. Turkey is set to spend $2 billion on this long-range air-defense-system project, which will entail the purchase of four different air-defense systems. Within this framework, Ankara will continue to carry out negotiations to decrease the bids and increase the share of local participation.