Turkish aircraft manufacturers have begun to produce the first prototype of the fifth-generation fighter TF-X. The model of the car was shown at the aerospace exhibition in Le Bourget in 2019.
Turkey is determined to complete the project of the fifth-generation national fighter Turkish Fighter Experimental (TF-X). According to the Dambiev telegram channel, the head of the Turkish state aircraft manufacturing association Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Temel Kotil announced the start of production of structural elements and parts for the first prototype fighter.
The project has a long history. Back in 2013, at the International Defense Exhibition IDEF-2013, three possible variants of the fighter design were shown in Istanbul. The cost of the program was estimated at ten billion US dollars.
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| Detail TF-X. |
| Source: twitter |
A mock-up of the aircraft was demonstrated at the 53rd Paris Aviation and Space Salon in Le Bourget. As it was noted at the time, the aircraft is intended primarily for supplies to the Turkish Armed Forces. There he should replace the F-16 and, as previously assumed, complement the new F-35. Subsequently, the Americans refused to supply Ankara with a fifth-generation fighter.
Today, the main features of the TF-X are known, although it is too early to judge the flight characteristics. The length of the aircraft will be 21 meters, and the wingspan will be equal to 14 meters. First, the fighter will receive two American General Electric F110 engines, but then they want to install new Turkish engines on it. The car will be a single.
A radar station with an active phased array antenna (AFAR) for the TF-X will be created by the Turkish company ASELSAN. A lot of bombs and missiles of national development should be integrated into the armament. The car should make its first flight in 2025.
Recently, it became known about the tests of several new (with some reservations) fifth-generation fighters at once. For the first time, the prototype of the Chinese carrier-based fighter J-35, which became the development of the Shenyang FC-31, which made its first flight in 2012, took to the sky.
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| Source: naked-science.ru |
In addition, the Network posted photos of the tests of the aircraft based on the J-20. He became the first two-seat fighter of the fifth generation created "in iron". According to experts, the second crew member, among other things, will have to control the UAV.
By itself, the concept of an unmanned slave is very popular nowadays. One of the leaders in this direction was Boeing, which created the famous Loyal Wingman. Recently, the project has overcome an important stage: the device was tested for the first time in flight with the landing gear retracted.
