Turkey's TUSAŞ (Turkish Aerospace Industries) has started the process of assembling the prototype of the HÜRJET, the country's first national training and light assault aircraft. The Hürjet is planned to have its first flight on 18 March 2023.
HÜRJETHÜRJET, tailored to become a fifth-generation training aircraft, will be equipped with an advanced mission computer in its modern cockpit. It will be supplied with superior radar and sensitive attack systems, and with air and ground communication capabilities, reducing threats and risks. Hürjet will be 13.4 meters long with a wingspan of 11 meters and will provide environmental security in combat operations.
“When we launched the HÜRJET Project, our main goal was to meet the needs of our own air force. But we did not start the project for this purpose alone, there is a serious potential for foreign sales. We are already doing a market analysis when we start the project. In the market analysis, a feasibility study is being carried out on how many of these aircraft and what configurations we can sell. Therefore, HÜRJET has the potential to be sold abroad,” TUSAŞ Deputy General Manager of Aircraft Prof. Dr. Atilla Dogan.
“Although we have not yet made the first flight of the aircraft, we are now entering into foreign tenders. Tender in Malaysia; it’s not for a ‘Jet Training Aircraft’, it’s a light assault aircraft tender. Initially, 18 aircraft will be supplied, but we know that additional packages will be ordered afterward,” Dogan added.
Dogan stated that TUSAŞ has submitted its offer to Malaysian authorities and that their offer is under evaluation. “We expect a decision to be made in the first quarter of this year, until March 2022,” he added.
“In addition to Malaysia, we know that many foreign countries are interested in this aircraft. They want information about our plane on different occasions. They give us feedback on the design, development, flight phases, and final configuration. We also consider these feedbacks during the design phase,” Dogan concluded.