Turkey Accepts Maritime Patrol Aircraft Package

Turkey has accepted a first package of mission equipment for maritime patrol aircraft under the Meltem contract, prime contractor Thales said.

"The Turkish SSM [Undersecretariat for Defense Industries] has accepted the first Thales Maritime Patrol Mission Equipment Package that will be installed by Alenia on the first of ten ATR-72 within the framework of the Meltem II program," the French systems company said in an April 29 statement.

Thales included a provision of 53 million euros ($82 million) for an undisclosed program when it announced 2007 results in March. The charge was for the Meltem program, an industry official said.

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