ISTANBUL: Turkey and Pakistan have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) for the sale of four Turkish-made corvette warships and 52 Pakistan-made training planes for Ankara’s armed forces, Turkey’s defence industry under-secretariat said on Wednesday.

Karachi Shipyard will buy four corvettes made under Turkey’s Milgem warship programme aimed at designing and building locally a fleet of multipurpose corvettes and frigates that will replace older ships.

The Turkish defence under secretariat said the final deal was expected to be signed on June 30. The statement gave no financial details.

Turkey will buy 52 Super Mushshak training planes from Pakistan Aeronautical Complex, Kamra, to replace the T-41 and SF-260 planes currently in use, a statement by Ankara’s defence under secretariat said.

This would be the first time a Nato country would use Super Mushshak planes, the statement added.

Two warships built under the Milgem project so far, named TCG Heybeliada and TCG Buyukada, were delivered to the Turkish Navy in 2011 and 2013. Construction is going on for TCG Burgazada and TCG Kinaliada, which are expected to start duty in 2018 and 2020, respectively.

Published in Dawn, May 11th, 2017