On April 25, 2023, the first prototype of the Turkish national supersonic training and light combat aircraft Hürjet made its first flight at the airfield of the Turkish state aircraft manufacturing association Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara. The prototype was not painted and did not carry side numbers.
The first prototype of the Turkish supersonic training and light combat aircraft TAI Hürjet in its first flight, 04/25/2023 (c) TAIThe decision to implement under the auspices of TAI the program of the Turkish national jet training and combat training aircraft under the symbol Hürjet (from the name of the turboprop training aircraft Hurkus + Jet developed by TAI) was made by the Turkish government in November 2017.
Earlier in August 2017, the TAI Board of Directors approved the start of the implementation of the program of this aircraft. In July 2018, the Turkish Defense Industry Administration (SSB) awarded TAI a contract for full-scale R&D on the aircraft.
In July 2018 at the Farnborough Air Show (UK) a full-size model of the Hürjet was demonstrated. The construction of the first Hürjet prototype at the TAI head office in Ankara entered the final stage in June 2022, the roll-out of the first prototype took place on December 23, 2022. On January 30, 2023, the first engine start was made on it, and on March 18, 2023, taxiing and jogging were started on the first prototype. In total, it is planned to manufacture two prototypes for flight tests, and two more for static tests.
The two-seat aircraft is equipped with one turbofan engine of American production General Electric F404-GE-102 with a thrust of about 8000 kgf, although in the future it is planned to install a Turkish-designed engine on the Hürjet. According to official TAI data, the Hürjet has a length of 13.6 m, a wingspan of 9.5 m and a height of 5.1 m. The maximum flight speed is stated in M = 1.4, the practical ceiling is 13700 m, the flight range is more than 2200 km, the rate of climb is 200 m/s, the maximum operational overload is 8 g. In the combat version, the aircraft can carry up to 3000 kg of combat load on seven external suspension nodes.
For the Turkish Air Force, the aircraft is being developed in two serial versions. The aircraft of the advanced stage of flight training and the transitional Hürjet-B is intended to replace the Northrop T-38 and F-5A/B American aircraft of this purpose in the Turkish Air Force. It is also planned to re-equip the Turkish demonstration and aerobatic group Turkish Stars (Türk Yıldızları) with aircraft of this version, currently flying eight old NF-5A/B fighters. The Hürjet-C light combat aircraft is planned to be used as a light attack aircraft. National certification and the start of serial production of the Hürjet-B variant are very optimistically planned for the end of 2025. The first batch previously planned for purchase for the Turkish Air Force will be 16 Hürjet-B aircraft, although a firm TAI contract has not yet been received.
Plans were also announced to create a carrier-based combat variant of the Hürjet to equip the Turkish L 400 Anadolu universal amphibious assault ship and promising Turkish aircraft carriers (on April 24, 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that Turkey intends to build a new aircraft carrier "twice the size of Anadolu").
The first prototype of the Turkish supersonic training and light combat aircraft TAI Hürjet in its first flight, 04/25/2023 (c) TAIVideo: