On March 1, 2012, the American Turkish Council hosted Turkish Undersecretary of Defense Industries, Murad Bayar at SSM’s Crystal City offices. Members of ATC’s Defense and Security Affairs Committee joined ATC President, James Holmes, in welcoming Undersecretary Bayar, Deputy Undersecretary, Serdar Demirel, and Head of Aircraft Department, Yakup Tesdelan.
On March 1, 2012, the American Turkish Council hosted Turkish Undersecretary of Defense Industries, Murad Bayar at SSM’s Crystal City offices. Members of ATC’s Defense and Security Affairs Committee joined ATC President, James Holmes, in welcoming Undersecretary Bayar, Deputy Undersecretary, Serdar Demirel, and Head of Aircraft Department, Yakup Tasdelen.
Undersecretary Bayar said U.S.-Turkey relations are excellent, and Foreign Minister Davotuglu’s latest visit to Washington indicates that ties will remain strong between the two countries. He added that current security issues in the Middle East are of great concern to Turkey, and they are putting all their effort into finding solutions.
Undersecretary Bayar said he was in Washington primarily for a Canadian-led meeting of the Joint Strike Fighter Consortium. He recounted Turkey’s January decision to proceed with the purchase of its first two F-35s for 2015 delivery and said the initial jets will be testing platforms and will remain in the U.S. for a year until Turkey becomes familiar with training and maintenance. He expressed confidence that Turkish policy makers will come to understand the long term value of the JSF program and proceed with Turkey’s expected 100-aircraft purchase in the years ahead.
Undersecretary Bayar briefed on the continuing utility helicopter negotiations, which he said are nearing conclusion, and on the long range missile defense system, which should be ready for decision by this June. When asked about cyber security, Bayar said Turkey is performing studies to further understand unique threats posed by cyber terrorism and that Turkish companies are showing increasing interest in cyber security issues, but the issue is not yet on SSM’s agenda.