Speaking ahead of a meeting with visiting French counterpart General Richard Wolsztynski, General Ibrahim Firtina said France was planning to send four Mirage-2000 fighter planes to the exercises codenamed "Anatolian Eagle," to be held in the province of Konya in 2005, the Anatolia news agency reported.

This year's exercices were held in late September and early October with the participation of Germany, Italy, the Netherlands, Pakistan, Turkey and the United States, as well as AWACS early-warning planes from NATO.

Israel had participated in earlier years.