The Eurofighter Consortium, a European defense fighter development program which was formed with partnership of Italy, Germany, Britain and Spain, has offered Turkey industrial participation in the program, the semi-official Anatolia news agency reported on Monday.

Anatolia quoted a statement issued by the Eurofighter Consortium as saying that "the consortium is offering not just an aircraft but a partnership with the elite club of the European aerospace industry for this high technology program and for other future aerospace collaborative programs."

According to the statement, once Turkey becomes a partner of the program, it would enjoy participation shares of 9 billion U.S. dollars for 120 aircraft, 6 billion dollars for 80 aircraft and 3. 2 billion dollars for 40 aircraft.

Moreover, Turkish companies would have an unlimited access to the program's core technologies and source codes, said the statement, adding that Turkey would also have the right to self- repair the aircraft in service and to upgrade the aircraft.

The Eurofighter, a European air dominance and defense fighter, was regarded parallel to the U.S. Joint Strike Fighter, an aircraft jointly designed by nine countries.

However, the Eurofighter rejected the sayings that defined the two fighters as rivals.

It said in the statement, "Despite the fact that they are often shown as rivals, in fact, the two are different platforms which complement each other."

"Just like many other NATO countries, the two together could be the right solution for Turkish Air Forces' long term needs," the statement concluded.

Source: Xinhua