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A full-scale mockup of the Hurjet was center stage of Turkish Aerospace’s presence at Saha Expo and the backdrop to memorial events after the Oct. 23 attack in Ankara.
A terror attack directed at the heart of Turkey’s growing aviation industry marred what should have been a celebration of the country’s advancing aeronautical prowess last week.
Five people were killed, and more than 20 were wounded when two gunmen ambushed the headquarters of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) near Ankara on Oct. 23. Turkey’s Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said both assailants were members of a militant group.
- Turkey’s government blames militants for the Oct. 23 attack
- Hurjet is attracting interest from Spain and Egypt
- The first Gokbey helicopters will be delivered to Turkish military police
The attack happened as the company’s management, along with much of the country’s defense industry, attended the Saha Expo Defense and Aerospace Exhibition in Istanbul Oct. 22-26.
The week started well. The state-owned aircraft, helicopter and uncrewed aircraft system (UAS) developer had just demonstrated the release of a new guided weapon from its Anka-3 uncrewed combat air vehicle while its Hurjet advanced jet trainer raced through the sound barrier, achieving Mach 1.01—a first for an indigenous Turkish aircraft.
While Turkey is no stranger to terrorism, a direct attack on the defense industry is unusual. Such events here, however, tend only to strengthen national resolve.
“No attack will be able to prevent our country’s determined stance and development in the national defense industry,” TAI CEO Mehmet Demiroglu said.
Aerospace projects are among the centerpieces of government efforts, led by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to make the country a major defense export player.
TAI’s Hurjet took center stage at the show among projects that are gaining traction. While the Hurjet has a configuration similar to—albeit slightly larger than—the Korea Aerospace Industries T-50, TAI says its product will be less expensive. After securing local orders from the Turkish Air Force, the platform is receiving growing international interest.
During the summer, TAI ferried the single flying prototype to Spain for demonstrations. Madrid is considering a replacement for its aging Northrop SF-5 Freedom Fighter lead-in fighter trainers.
The Hurjet participated in the flying display of the first Egypt International Airshow at El Alamein Airport in September alongside competition from Italy and the Czech Republic. Egypt is also considering modernizing its trainer fleets.
Initially anticipated to meet the Turkish Air Force’s need to replace its Northrop T-38 Talons, the company-financed development of the Hurjet was not intended to have such a rapid pace. An air force order for 12 aircraft last year increased the development tempo, and now TAI is targeting delivery to the service in early 2026.
“The contract with the Turkish Air Force changed everything,” Demiroglu told Aviation Week in late October. “Now we are making tremendous progress.”
Serial production to support the procurement is underway, but Demiroglu anticipates more orders from the service—as many as 80 overall, including dedicated aircraft for the national display team, the Turkish Stars. To help speed development further, the patriotically painted red-and-white first prototype Hurjet soon will be joined by a second prototype in a light combat aircraft configuration. The second aircraft began performing engine runs during the week of the Saha Expo, but a much-rumored first flight on Oct. 29—the 101st anniversary of the Turkish Republic—failed to materialize.
Demiroglu was reluctant to talk about the sales effort in Spain but said there is “significant interest” in the aircraft.
“We are doing our best to answer their questions, whether with meetings or showing them the aircraft,” he said. “We are sharing ideas and discussing what the possibilities are.”
Spain wants to involve its industry in customizing the aircraft for its purposes.
Airbus previously proposed the development of a jet trainer in Spain, but its Future Jet Trainer did not receive the needed backing (AW&ST Oct. 26-Nov. 8, 2020, p. 34). Since then, Airbus has teamed up with Leonardo to offer that company’s M-346 for the former’s home nations, including Spain.
Spanish media also have reported a potential government-to-government swap of Hurjets for several of Spain’s postponed Airbus A400M airlifters.
TAI has broader ambitions for the Hurjet. Discussions are underway about producing a marinized version that could equip a future aircraft carrier to support Turkey’s blue-water navy ambitions. The defense show displayed a model of such a ship, called Mugem, equipped with a mix of Hurjets, TAI Anka-3s, Bayraktar Kizilelmas and Bayraktar TB3 UAS on its deck.
The light attack type of the Hurjet would be equipped with a version of the Murad active, electronically scanned array radar developed by defense electronics firm Aselsan, which TAI is retrofitting into Turkish Air Force F-16s as part of an upgrade program.
Oct. 29 saw the delivery of the first production example of the TAI T625 Gokbey utility helicopter to the Turkish military police. The Gokbey, a 6-metric-ton, twin-engine medium helicopter in the class of Leonardo’s AW139 and Airbus’ H160 utility helicopter is Turkey’s first indigenously developed rotorcraft (AW&ST March 7-20, 2022, p. 54). Engineers leaned heavily on the company’s experience in licensed production of the TAI T129 ATAK with Italy’s Leonardo. It is the first of several planned rotary-wing products.
Most crucial, the Gokbey deliveries are the first of an indigenously developed crewed aircraft to the Turkish customer—a previous order for the Hurkus turboprop trainer was not completed, and those aircraft destined for Turkey were modified for other customers. TAI has delivered indigenous uncrewed platforms such as the Anka family of UAS and various license-built crewed aircraft, such as the T129 ATAK attack helicopter and the Sikorsky T-70 Black Hawk.
Plans are in place for nearly 200 Gokbey orders from the Turkish military and government agencies, including national air ambulance service use.
“Delivery of our Gokbey is not just a helicopter delivery but also a step forward in Turkey’s defense industry,” Haluk Gorgun, the head of Turkey’s Defense Industries Agency, said during the delivery ceremony at TAI’s facilities in Ankara on Oct. 29.
Uncertainty clouds the future of another rotary-wing program, the Turkish Utility Helicopter Program (TUHP), in which TAI locally assembles Black Hawk helicopters with native avionics and other modifications for the Turkish armed forces and government agencies. However, the program has been at an impasse for two years because Washington is withholding licenses to transfer the kits for the remaining 71 of the planned 109 helicopters. In early October, Lockheed Martin, Sikorsky’s owner, stopped work on production of the kits for the TUHP program.
TAI has partly anticipated this by stepping up development of a 10-ton utility helicopter, the T-925, a model of which it presented at last year’s Paris Air Show. A first flight of the Ukrainian Motor-Sich TV3-117 turboshaft-powered utility helicopter is planned for 2026.
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