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Privatization of Turkish military factory draws strong criticism

The lease of the Turkish military’s prominent tank factory to the private company BMC has stirred fierce criticism.
Technicians construct a Turkish Attack and Tactical Reconnaissance Helicopter (ATAK), at the Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc (TAI) factory in Ankara, Turkey, April 28, 2015. TAI, which produces F-16 fighter jets and other military aircraft, could float on the Istanbul stock exchange in the second half of this year, its chief executive told Reuters. Ankara-based TAI was established to co-produce Lockheed Martin's F-16 for the Turkish Air Force in 1984. It is almost wholly owned by the Turkish Armed Forces F

At the first presidential summit of defense industries convened in Ankara on Dec. 12-13, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said he believes an increased injection of the private sector into the defense industry through privatization is a key to success.

One week after this statement, a new decree was signed by Erdogan that includes Turkey's Tank and Pallet Factory in the country's northwestern province of Sakarya in the scope of a 25-year privatization program. The program aims at an efficacious use of resources in the national defense industry and at raising the operational efficiency of the factory.

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