Ankara[/B] is developing some interesting military aircraft and drones that it hopes will make their maiden flights in 2023, on the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Turkish state.
However, according to Forbes, the most advanced aircraft of these, Turkish Aerospace Industries' (TAI or TUSAS) TF-X national fighter, is not expected to grace Turkish skies during the 100th anniversary celebrations, as Turkey had previously hoped.
In November, video depicted the TF-X prototype taking shape on the assembly line. Turkey reportedly plans to unveil it on March 18, 2023, an overly ambitious timeline according to analysts.
Turkish officials had hoped the TF-X would fly in time for the anniversary.
In November 2017, then-Turkish Defense Minister Nuretin Janikli claimed the aircraft would be operational in 2023. "I will not give an exact date, but our primary goal is for it to fly in 2023," he said."
Tayyip Erdogan expressed similar hopes in February 2020. "I hope our warplane, which will use domestic resources at every stage of its design and production, will fly in 2023," he said."
In June 2019, TAI unveiled a model of the TF-X at the Paris Air Show. TAI president and CEO Temel Cotil claimed that "it will be the best fighter aircraft in Europe" and said he expects the first model to make its maiden flight in 2025.
[/P][BR][BR]Currently, the TF-X is expected to take off for the first time in 2025-2026, with the first aircraft coming off the production line in the early 2030s. Even this prediction, however, may turn out to be optimistic.
Moreover, Ankara may have to compromise on some stealth features of the aircraft in order to start serial production in time. Therefore, the first versions will at best be a highly advanced 4th-5th generation aircraft, not entirely different from the Block 1 version of the KF-21 Boramae fighter currently under development in South Korea.
On the other hand, we will probably see some other Turkish aircraft and drones flying in 2023 for the first time.
Bayraktar Kizilelma
The Bayraktar Kizilelma jet-powered prototype aircraft completed taxi and take-off tests in November 2022. Its maiden flight will likely take place in early 2023.
The Kizilelma is Turkey's first jet-powered unmanned aircraft. Baykar claims that "it will be a force to be reckoned with, particularly because of its ability to maneuver aggressively and evade radar."
The Kizilelma also has an internal arsenal and can launch up to air-to-air missiles, which may offer it protection against enemy drones or helicopters.
The drone's maximum take-off weight will be 6 tons, including 1,500 kilograms of payload. It will conduct intelligence gathering operations and attacks. Baykar also claims that the Kizilelma will also be equipped with a Turkish Active Electronic Scanning Array (AESA) radar and "will be able to take off and land on aircraft carriers with short runways."
TAI Hurjet
The Kizilelma is not the only supersonic aircraft Turkey plans to take off in 2023. TAI is developing a training aircraft called Hurjet that will succeed the Hurkus turboprop.
As with other supersonic training aircraft, the Hurjet can also be used as a light fighter. It can fly at a speed of Mach 1.2 (i.e. 1,470km/h) and can reach an altitude of up to 45,000 feet. These characteristics put it in the same broad category as Italy's M-346 Master and South Korea's T-50 Golden Eagle.
The Hurjet's maiden flight was originally scheduled for 2022, but is now expected to take place in March 2023. Turkey approved serial production of the aircraft in January 2022.
The Hurjet will replace Turkey's aging Northrop T-38 Talon trainers and F-5 fighters. On December 6, 2022, one of those F-5s crashed when its engines stopped working because a bird hit them.
Turkey hopes the Hurjet will also be successful in the export market, noting increasing sales of the Korean T-50 and the military version of the KA-50 - Poland recently ordered 48 such aircraft.
TAI Goksungur/Simsek
TAI is also developing a subsonic drone with a maximum speed of 0.7 Mach (858 km/h) which will be called either Goksungur ("sky") or Simsek ("lightning"). This drone is designed to collect intelligence and to assist with firepower.
According to a TAI official , the company hopes to develop a fully supersonic version as well. The same executive said that TAI is experimenting with using a small drone simultaneously in operations with the Aksungur drone that it also owns: the largest drone Turkey has built so far.
TAI may eventually develop a smaller version that can be launched from the Aksungur.
The Goksungur/Simsek is expected to fly in February 2023.
TAI T929 ATAK 2
TAI is also developing the T929 ATAK 2, which will succeed the T129 ATAK attack helicopter. The ATAK 2 will be significantly heavier and will be able to take off with twice the payload of its predecessor developed on the Italian AugustWestland A129 model with Turkish-made components and subsystems.
The upcoming attack helicopter will be capable of carrying various types of Turkish-made ammunition, including unguided missiles, UMTAS long-range guided anti-tank missiles and 70 mm Cirit missiles, as well as air-to-air missiles.
The T929 is intended to serve the Turkish ground forces as well as the Turkish Navy. The American-built AH-1 Cobra attack helicopters available to Ankara will serve on the flagship of the Turkish fleet as a temporary solution until the ATAK 2 begins to be used, around 2025.
In June 2021, after it was officially announced that TAI would procure 14 engines for the T929 from Ukraine's Motor Sich, TAI CEO Kotil noted the symbolic importance of flying such domestically produced aircraft on the 100th year of the Turkish state.
"For the 100th anniversary of the Republic of Turkey, TAI will go in strong," Kotil said, according to Forbes. "It will be the year in which almost all our projects will fly."
Source: in.gr
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