Turkish Defense Ministry has signed an agreement on joint development and production of advanced systems of air and missile defense with the European consortium Eurosam, which consists of the French and Italian branches of the MBDA group and the French Thales group, Lenta reported quoting Hurriet.

It was noted that the system designed for Turkey should be created using anti-aircraft missiles Aster 30.

 A new agreement with a European manufacturer does not cancel plans to purchase S-400 anti-aircraft missile system from Russia.

Commenting on the signed document, Turkish Defense Minister Fikri Isik said that that the purchase of the S-400 corresponds to today's needs of Turkey, while the agreement with Eurosam refers to a more distant prospect of a joint program involving the production of key components of air defense systems in Turkey.