TSAMTO, July 30th. The supersonic training / light combat aircraft Hurjet of the Turkish company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) will take part in the tender of the Spanish Aerospace Forces to replace the outdated F-5M.
As reported by Defensa.com The prototype of the aircraft has already arrived at the Torrejon air base (Madrid), where in the coming days it will be evaluated by pilots and experts of the Spanish Aerospace Forces. The prototype does not yet have additional tanks and the ability to refuel in the air, so it had to make stops for refueling during the flight.
Some Turkish media suggest that negotiations could potentially be held, the purpose of which would be the sale of 24 Hurjet aircraft to the Spanish Aerospace Forces in exchange for Turkey's purchase of six A-400M military transport aircraft in addition to 10 vehicles of this type purchased earlier.
According to the statement of the representative of the Spanish Aerospace Forces, Lieutenant Colonel Hugo Garcia Galan, three more applicants were selected to participate in the tender procedure, in addition to Hurjet, including the T-7A Red Hawk of the American-Swedish company Boeing/Saab, the T-50 of the South Korean company Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and the M-346 of the Italian Leonardo group.
The Hurjet is a two-seat single-engine supersonic jet aircraft with tandem crew accommodation, developed on the basis of the Hurkus turboprop TCB project.
The management of Turkish Aerospace officially approved the launch of the Khurjet program in August 2017, which allowed us to begin the project development stage. The new training aircraft is designed to replace the outdated T-38 TCB in service with the Turkish Air Force Command. About 70 T-38 units were purchased in the period 1961-1972. In addition, it is planned to supply aircraft for export.
The protection stage of the preliminary design of the aircraft was completed in July 2019, and the protection of the working draft was completed in February 2021. The assembly of the first prototype began in September 2021. It is reportedly made in a simplified configuration. The second prototype is equipped with combat systems and weapons. The first two samples will be followed by four pre-production aircraft of the Block version.0 in the Advanced Training TCB (AJT) configuration. Flight tests of the first of them, TP1, are expected to begin in December 2024, and the other three in 2025. Next, 12 serial AJT Block aircraft will be assembled.1. The first six of them should take to the air in 2028, and the rest in 2029.
The developers expect to complete testing and certification activities for Hurjet by the end of 2025. According to previous statements by the head of TAI, the company plans to produce two aircraft per month after 2025. Full-scale mass production is scheduled to begin in 2027.
The length of the Hurjet is 13.4 m, the wingspan is 9.5 m, the height is 6.1 m. The aircraft is equipped with a General Electric F404-GE-102 engine, the estimated maximum speed is 1.4 M, the practical ceiling is 45,000 feet (13.7 km), the maximum flight range is more than 2,222 km. The UBS will be able to carry up to 2,720 kg of payload, including ammunition, radar and detection equipment.
