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TF-X Turkish Fighter & Trainer Aircraft Projects


Source TAI GM Temel Kotil. Due to the positive progress in the project, the maiden flight date was revised to October 29, 2024.

Also, as dear @Celestyal said, the delivery of the landing gear to TAI has been completed. In the first months of 2023, we will see prototype 1 finished and there will be a roll out ceremony in March.

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"Announcing that the first flight of the National Combat Aircraft will take place on October 29, 2024, Kotil said, "We will delivery in 2028. After 2028, we will produce two National Combat Aircraft per month, making 24 per year. If there is a need, this can increase exponentially. The landing gear of the National Combat Aircraft has arrived, as of the 20th of this month, the landing gear will be on and the engines will be installed."

The first prototype of the National Combat Aircraft, the biggest project of the Turkish defense industry, was recently taken to the final assembly line. The aircraft will leave the hangar in March 2023."


According to the plan, around 200 MMUs will be produced by 2036. The mass production line, which is designed for 2 aircraft per month, will be increased if a foreign country is involved in the program.
Alhamdullillah. I pray a time comes when Turkey produces 100 TFX fighters yearly for Muslim countries around the world. We need defence against Western agression.
 
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This is the roll-out of the first manned supersonic aircraft of Turkey. They should've done a proper roll out ceremony. Tbh I'm really disappointed, this is supposed to be huge but instead it feels like a cheap event, y'know.

@Bilal Khan (Quwa) you took the words right out of my mouth, I was thinking "wait why does it look somewhat similar to something I can't name yet...?"

I know that the flaps and other control surfaces aren't attached yet but hear me out:

Isn't it a bit interesting that it has such less wing area considering the fact that it's supposed to be a LIFT <trainer> aircraft,

P.S. I just took a look at the both the T-38 and it's replacement T-7A again and they also have very little wing areas.

Aren't trainers supposed to have very good lift capabilities so that the cadets don't crash the aircraft?


Also this aircraft is going to be an iron bird prototype so it is understandable why it looks so crude.
This isn't a rollout, and it isn't a ceremony. It was already announced that there wasn't going to be a ceremonial event for Hürjet. There will be a rollout ceremony for the TF-X tho. But I agree that they should've done one for Hürjet as well.

The main wing structures tend to be relatively small when we are speaking of aircraft that are similar in size. This includes the F-16. Once leading edge extensions and flaperons are installed, you'll see how large the wing area of Hürjet actually is.

The aircraft in question is referred to as a static test prototype. Iron bird is something different.
 
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They used the temporary landing gears we saw the other day to move the plane from the assembly building to the ironbird testing building
That's true. The landing gears were temporary. However the iron bird building of Hürjet is right next to her assembly facilities. Hürjet, after being semi-rolled out, was taken to TF-X's building where the static testing jig is located.




*It still isn't the iron bird. This account mixed them up as well
 
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British-owned BNA will continue as Nurol Kontrol ve Aviyonik Sistemleri, a wholly Turkish-owned company. The partnership structure of the defense and aviation company BNA, which operates as a partnership between Nurol Holding and British BAE Systems, has changed. With the transfer of 49 percent of BAE Systems' shares to Nurol Holding, the company will continue as Nurol Kontrol ve Aviyonik Sistemleri AŞ with 100 percent Turkish capital.

The company started the delivery of avionic control panels for the Hürjet. It also provides engineering support to the MMU.


Stating that the company's name and logo have completely changed following the share transfer, Gökalp said, "Our new title has been determined as Nurol Kontrol ve Avionik Sistemleri AŞ (Nurol Controls & Avionics Systems-Nurol CAS) in line with the business focus of our company. All 7 members of the Board of Directors will consist of respected executives of Nurol Holding and experienced professionals in the sector."

Gökalp stated that they will continue to further develop their dynamic and flexible structure, innovative working approach, existing capital and human resources. Gökalp said, "This will be a period in which our decision-making mechanisms will function faster, and we will focus on innovative, competitive and reliable solutions not only in the field of aviation, but also in space and other defense industry platforms by prioritizing the goals in the BNA fiction.

Regarding the advantages that a 100 percent national company structure will provide, Gökalp said, "One of the most important issues in the defence sector is to eliminate foreign dependency and create indigenous products and solutions domestically. When we are a 100 percent domestic company, it is much more possible to achieve this and ensure that the resulting technology remains in our country. On the other hand, it is possible to see the interest in Turkish defense industry products in some target countries. When the time comes, it will be much easier with this share structure to establish the production infrastructure of some products of our own design in these countries. The cooperation that Nurol Holding's affiliated organizations have already established abroad will also contribute to us."

- Hürjet deliveries have started

Eray Gökalp explained that when the company was founded, they focused on control, autonomy and some avionic systems that have a high level of safety criticality in aviation. Within the scope of these fields of activity, Eray Gökalp said that they have been working on the development of software and hardware intensive flight control, engine control and mission control systems under the control technologies, as well as other aircraft systems control units, cockpit control units and additionally fuel, hydraulic and air conditioning system sub-units.

Gökalp said that they have completed the development of a multi-purpose gas turbine engine control system for export to Germany, and completed deliveries to AES, a company established in partnership with MTU-Safran, and that they have spent intensive effort and resources on the development of infrastructure for Flight Control System technologies, especially for the flight control computer and active pilot controls.

Stating that they took part in research and development projects conducted by BAE Systems in the UK, Gökalp said that they were deemed worthy of the "Business Leader" award at the BAE Systems Chairman Awards for their "virtual reality" development project.

Stating that the project to develop a health monitoring and control system for FNSS has reached the acceptance stage, Gökalp said:

"We have already started our first product deliveries to TAI for the development of avionic control panels for the Hürjet program. Within the scope of the National Combat Aircraft Program, we have provided fuel systems system engineering support to TAI, and we continue to provide expert engineering support for avionic systems. We aim to take part in localization projects for fuel system units. We have submitted various proposals. We hope to see the results of our increasing initiatives to take more part in our country's aviation programs and provide added value in the near future."

Gökalp stated that the unmanned aerial vehicle concept study named Alesta, which they initiated for R&D purposes, has created a very good platform for control and autonomous technologies, and noted that they plan to increase their system technology readiness levels by using this platform more effectively.

Eray Gökalp emphasized that since control and autonomous systems have a wide range of applications, they aim to take part in different civilian and military platforms such as the automotive and space industries, in addition to aviation, with the infrastructure they have developed.

- Aiming to expand exports to Germany and the UK

Stating that Nurol Control and Avionics Systems will work to bring critical technologies needed by the aviation, space and defence industry, which have not yet been attempted and which are still dependent on foreign sources, Gökalp said that Nurol Control and Avionics Systems will continue on its path with the aim of becoming a company that has achieved global competitiveness and can export the products it develops. Gökalp made the following assessments:

"Our main goal is to become a reliable and qualified subcontractor of our main system manufacturers with the technologies we focus on for the rapidly developing aviation, space and defence programs in our country. We will take the necessary institutional steps to realize this and make it sustainable. We aim to continue and expand the export projects we have started to carry out in Germany and the UK. In this sense, we will take part in relevant clusters, fairs and events to promote our company capabilities and products. We will expand our university-industry collaborations to produce new scientific approaches, support our research and development projects and train qualified human resources."

 
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Wow; most impressive, but also I’m a bit disappointed … the landing gear looks more like a provisorial one

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It has a tall profile which is nice - there is lots of clearance under the wings - so they should be able to put lots of interesting things under the wings and fuselage.

My first thought is - the landing gear looks a bit skinny - but am sure they should be fine - it is not as if this thing needs to land on an aircraft carrier like the hornet does. I guess a few more months - and it should be fitted out and ready for the ironbird/stress testing and then taxi/flight !

Looks like another press / PR event - so more photo's coming soon i hope !!!
 
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It has a tall profile which is nice - there is lots of clearance under the wings - so they should be able to put lots of interesting things under the wings and fuselage.

My first thought is - the landing gear looks a bit skinny - but am sure they should be fine - it is not as if this thing needs to land on an aircraft carrier like the hornet does. I guess a few more months - and it should be fitted out and ready for the ironbird/stress testing and then taxi/flight !

Looks like another press / PR event - so more photo's coming soon i hope !!!

This is a ground test unit (GTU) and it will never fly. First flight is expected in October 2024.
 
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It has a tall profile which is nice - there is lots of clearance under the wings - so they should be able to put lots of interesting things under the wings and fuselage.

My first thought is - the landing gear looks a bit skinny - but am sure they should be fine - it is not as if this thing needs to land on an aircraft carrier like the hornet does. I guess a few more months - and it should be fitted out and ready for the ironbird/stress testing and then taxi/flight !

Looks like another press / PR event - so more photo's coming soon i hope !!!
Yea this got leaked hard lmao. And I agree with the points you made. The landing gears look like the ones on the F-15.

This is a ground test unit (GTU) and it will never fly. First flight is expected in October 2024.
Tiny correction. GTU stands for "Development and Test Aircraft-0) :D
 
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