Airbus and Türkiye have a 40-year history of cooperation in civil and military aviation, with the latter having also been an integral partner of the Airbus supply chain for over two decades. José Luis de Miguel CORTÉS, Vice President, Head of Europe at Airbus Defence and Space, speaks to Daily News on the airframer’s presence in Türkiye.
Please provide an update on the A400M in service with the Turkish Air Force?
Since the first aircraft was delivered in 2014, the Turkish Air Force has been contributing to the transportation operation with 10 A400M aircraft in its inventory. To date, they have been flying with a very high availability rate thanks to good service support and the setup of their current maintenance capabilities. A400Ms have great benefits for humanitarian aid purposes as well as operational support. For this reason, not only the Turkish Air Force but also the entire Türkiye is realising the benefits of the A400M fleet every day.
Please provide an update on Airbus’ business and industrial relationship with the 2. AMFD in Kayseri?
AMFD has been awarded the approved supplier status in 2019 by Airbus to implement A400M Retrofit on TurAF aircraft. Since then, 2. AMFD has successfully completed six retrofit campaigns on TurAF ACs including one combined C check. In addition, following the signature of an MoU between ASFAT and Airbus to continue working on A400M Retrofit/MRO business, 2. AMFD has been awarded the MRO supplier in the region to implement A400M Working Parties. In this context, they already implemented two working parties like engine replacements on TurAF A400Ms.
Thanks to the capabilities developed during the A400M cooperation as above and the close relationship with Airbus, the 2nd AMFD can also be evaluated within the scope of the industrialization and service support package of other Airbus platforms for the ongoing Turkish Air Force needs.
What are the key capabilities at these MRO facilities and what is the status on the Global Support Services (GSS) 3 contract?
With the ongoing A400M Retrofit project, 2. AMFD demonstrated their capabilities in implementing complex and extensive MRO work packages of a retrofit event up to six months including ground and flight tests in compliance with Airbus standards. One of these events even included a combined C Light check as well. In addition, as explained above, they have recently started to implement some WPs on TurAF A400M as a subcontractor of Airbus.
What are the other Airbus products that are currently in service or being proposed for use with the Turkish Military?
With 58 aircraft in operation Türkiye has the world’s largest CN235 fleet. The six MSAs of the Naval Forces, the three MPAs of the Coast Guard Command and the 49 CN235 aircraft of the Air Force in various configurations have been operating successfully for many years. Airbus will support the Air Force’s modernization needs to ensure that these aircraft continue to fly successfully in the coming years.
The current KC 135 tanker fleet of TurAF is ageing ( >60 years), and we believe Airbus’ A330 MRTT could be the ideal replacement. To this end, we work closely with the relevant parties.
Turkey is also the world’s largest Cougar operator with a total of 46 Cougar helicopters, 26 of which are in the Land Forces’ inventory and 20 of which are used in the SAR configuration by the Air Force. Airbus is ready to support future modernization needs for this platform.
Beyond air platforms, Airbus Space Systems has delivered Turksat 5A and Turksat 5B, two telecommunication satellites that are now fully operational. We are also in touch with the Turkish Space Agency (TUA) to support them in the realisation of their ambitious space program and we are ready to open the door for the Turkish Space Agency to the European Space Agency.
Please provide an update on Airbus Defence’s partnership with Turkish companies such as Aselsan, Roketsan, etc?
Airbus and Türkiye have a 40-year history of cooperation in civil and military aviation. We are honoured to be a part of Türkiye’s industrial journey and to contribute to the success of the Turkish aerospace industry.
Türkiye has been an integral part of Airbus supply chain for more than 20 years, being a partner in all main Airbus aircraft programmes, from the A220 to the flagship A350 and previously to the world’s largest commercial airliner A380.
Airbus (solutions, aircraft, services) is ready to answer Türkiye’s needs, share know-how and contribute to the country’s aerospace industry. Airbus has seven major industrial partners and subsidiaries in Türkiye.
Turkish Aerospace (TAI/TUSAS) in Ankara and other key Turkish supplier-partners are:
• PFW (Hutchinson) – Havacılık Sanayi (HS) in Izmir
• GKN Fokker subsidiary in Izmir
• LISI, based in Izmir
• Turkish Technic based at Istanbul Ataturk International Airport
• TCI
• Mubea
The Turkish industry is also a key player in engine parts manufacturing with a strong presence on the A320neo and A220 engines from P&W and CFM through Kale P&W, Alp Aviation and TEI (Turkish Engine Industries).
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