its the nature of geopolitical changes, unexpected things happen and one has to adapt. but to be fair, the Arjun and Tejas situations are worse.. And Turkey seems closer to finishing the Altay project than what it looks like compared to the Arjun or the Tejas, which will be an underperforming and outdated fighter, which failed to meet full targets.
The Altay's subsystems are still fairly new and its performance is comparable to other tanks, and it doesnt seem like Turkey is all too behind in tank development compared to other countries. Engine and Transmission are a problem, but not something that can't be fixed with time, and the tank can continuously be upgraded like the Merkhava. And Turkey has enough of the Leopard stock, where there isnt a dire need that needs to be immediately met.
I feel the TF-X situation is a lot more dire, I can't even find out what engine they are going to use, some people said
EJ200 engine, and then a drop in replacement thats locally developed. Then I heard
General Electric F110, which is supposed to be replaced by a different drop in replacement. I can't even seem to narrow down, which local company is building the local engine(I heard TRMOTOR, but before that I heard Tusas), let alone discuss the extreme challenges and hazards of developing a competitive engine from scratch, even the russians are having problems with the
izdeliye 30, which is horribly delayed, and lets not even discuss the Chinese and their troubles.. Right now it seems the only companies that at able to build good engines are GE, Pratt and Whitney, and RollsRoyce, with Snecma/Safran being close being them.
I think Turkey should try to get back in the f-35 program, and try to come towards a compromise over the s-400, or alternatively join the BAE Tempest program, and hope that it helps them in their development of the TF-X, like sweden is hoping to do. The other options are kind of bleak, as it would be reliant on the russians.