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ANKARA (BNS): Airbus Military and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) have signed a MoU to set up a joint venture company in Turkey which will primarily provide in-service support to the A400M fleet of aircraft ordered by Turkey.

The new company, to be called Airbus Military Turkey (AMTR), "will be a newly-formed company, under Turkish laws, to provide in-service support (ISS) services for the A400M aircraft ordered by Turkey with the potential to provide services to other A400M users in the future," a joint statement issued by both the partnering companies said.

The AMTR will be jointly owned by TAI and Airbus Military and will operate at a mutually agreed location in Turkey to be decided.

"The next stage of the discussions will focus on the definition of the organisational structure of AMTR as well as determining the capital requirements of AMTR," the statement added.

Turkey is one of the partner nations for the A400M programme with an order of 10 A400M aircraft.

TAI is the industrial partner of the A400M programme in Turkey and is responsible for design, development and delivery of airframe and aircraft systems for the military transport planes.

"We are very satisfied to have reached this first step in the partnership for providing ISS to the Turkish A400M fleet with our partner TAI. TAI is a long standing partner of Airbus and Airbus Military and this first agreement will establish a strong in-country footprint to ensure a smooth entry into service and comprehensive support for the operation of the fleet," Airbus Military CEO Domingo Urena Raso said.

TAI Chairman Yalçin Kaya said: "We have started working on A400M in 2003 as a partner in AMSL, having important design and manufacturing responsibilities. Design phase of the aircraft is almost completed and serial production started.

"Now it is time to continue our support in the sustainment phase of the programme. This TAI-AMSL partnership (JV) is aimed at providing cost-effective logistic solutions to the Turkish Air Force with the possibility for expanding the service to future potential customers."