Could you introduce Rolls-Royce’s operations in Turkey?

Turkey is an important market for Rolls-Royce, and we operate in various business segments including civil aerospace, defense aerospace, marine, power systems, and civil nuclear. We have a local corporate office in Istanbul, established in 2012, which oversees our business activities in Turkey and Central Asia. We have a marine sales and services office in Tuzla and a diesel engine production facility in Hadimkoy under our power system’s MTU brand. We employ 174 Turkish nationals, and our defense and commercial customers have recognized MTU Turkey for the last 25 years.

What role does Rolls-Royce want to play in the future development of the Turkish aerospace and defense industry?

Our strategic intent is to develop partnerships through indigenous programs, especially in defense, through product co-development activities with a designed-in-Turkey, built-in-Turkey approach. We aim to focus on high-localization content and as much knowledge transfer as possible. We are open to risk and revenue-sharing partnerships where appropriate. In addition, we are looking to increase participation in new naval indigenous programs such as MILGEM.

Rolls-Royce signed an MoU with TUBITAK to open an Advanced Manufacturing Technology Center (AMTC). Could you tell us more about the project and the type of projects Rolls-Royce plans to develop at this center?

The AMTC is a public-private partnership model, led by Turkey’s Ministry of Science, Industry & Technology and based on a collaborative cross-industry research working culture. It will focus on advanced manufacturing capability development and technology application development in aerospace and will eventually include other industrial sectors such as civil nuclear. The center will help shape the regional supply chain capability for Turkey to meet its future needs in the aerospace industry, among others. We expect both international OEMs and local Turkish players to become members of this center. It will be an integral part of our strategy to build a global network of advanced manufacturing research centers and world-class suppliers, and we will work closely with the Turkish government and industrial partners to establish the AMTC. Seven of these centers are already operational around the world in the UK, United States, and Singapore.

In 2015, LHTEC signed an MoU with Turkish Aerospace Industries for the use of the CT800 engine for the light utility helicopter program. What has been the progress on this deal since June?

We signed the contract on December 10, 2015, to supply CTS800 turboshaft engines for the Turkish indigenous light utility helicopter (TLUH). The agreement consists of a five-year development program to integrate and certify the CTS800-4AT engine model on the TLUH platform. This agreement is expected to result in a production program that will provide helicopters to the local Turkish military and civil market, as well as globally. With the CTS800, operators will benefit from a proven commercial and military propulsion system that expands mission range and payload across both the ATAK and the TLUH platforms, providing a significant operational advantage given common training and logistics delivery platforms. In addition to the development program, LHTEC plans to industrialize production and maintenance of the engine in Turkey, providing local opportunities for manufacturing and depot repair.