According to the daily programme of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, he will be attending a meeting in Istanbul. However, it is known that he prefers to chair the meeting, in which Minister of National Defence Hulusi Akar, President of SSB Professor İsmail Demir, and the command committee of the General Staff are also expected to attend.

The meeting was first scheduled for early December however postponed to the 22nd of the same month. TurDef has learned that a high-level foreign delegation is expected for that day, and the date has been rescheduled for tomorrow.

There needs to be a clear-cut definition of the agenda. However, important topics are waiting for a decision. Turkish fighter project TF’s engine has priority on aviation. There are three proposals submitted. British Rolls-Royce, Turkish Kale group joint venture TAEC, TUSAŞ Engine Inc TEI, and TR Motor were invited to submit their proposals.

The CEO of Turkish Aerospace (TUSAŞ), Professor Temel Kotil, has recently renewed the date for the maiden flight of TF. There is no direct relation between the first flight and the engine to be procured later; however, the increasing tension between Turkiye and Greece forces Turkiye to follow more tight schedule on aviation projects.

Two MİLGEM (National Ship) projects are waiting for a decision. TF-2000 Air Defence destroyer has been on the waiting list for a long time. The destroyer’s displacement has increased from 7,000 tons to 8,500 tons.

I (Istif Class) frigates also one of the possible topics to be discussed. The construction of the first ship of the Class I Frigate Project TCG Istanbul (F-515) is near completion. The vessel is planned to be delivered to the Turkish Navy in 2023. There are three more vessels to be constructed according to the MILGEM project. A decision has yet to be made.