Turkish Aircraft Industries Corporation (TAI) was established on June 28, 1973 under the auspices of the Ministry of Industry and Technology in order to reduce the foreign dependency in defence industry of Turkey.

With the decision of meeting the combat aircraft requirement of Turkish Air Force (TurAF) with F-16s, TAI Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) was established by Turkish and US partners in 1984 for a period of 25 years with the aim to realize the manufacture, systems integration and flight tests of F-16 that would be delivered to TurAF.
TAI was restructured in the year 2005, just before the 25 years of period came to an end, with the acquisition of foreign shares by Turkish shareholders. Along with this restructuring, Turkish Aircraft Industries and TAI have merged under the roof of Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) and have broadened its activities. Today, known as Turkish Aerospace Industries has become Turkey’s center of technology in design, development, modernization, manufacturing, integration and life cycle support of integrated aerospace systems, from fixed and rotary wing air platforms to UAVs and satellites.