Rolls-Royce scales back on joining Turkish fighter jet project: FT
(Reuters) - British engine maker Rolls-Royce has scaled back efforts to join a Turkish program to build a new fighter jet, the Financial Times reported on Sunday.
Talks between Turkey’s Kale Group and Rolls-Royce, ran into problems last year because of a dispute over the sharing of intellectual property and the involvement of a Qatari-Turkish company, according to the FT report.
Rolls-Royce has all but abandoned efforts to win the bid for the fifth generation fighter aircraft after failing to find a compromise, FT added, citing people familiar with the matter.
In 2017 Kale Group said it would set up a joint venture with Rolls-Royce to develop aircraft engines after Britain and Turkey signed a defense deal worth more than 100 million pounds ($133 million) to develop Turkish fighter jets.
Last year Turkish Defence Industry Director Ismail Demir said the door remained open for international engine makers to get involved in Turkey’s TF-X national fighter jet project.
Rolls-Royce did not respond immediately to a request for comment and Kale Group could not be reached for comment.
Reporting by Mekhla Raina in Bengaluru; Editing by Susan Fenton
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