Indigenous aircraft to add new dimension to Turkish aviation

By Goksel Yildirim

ANKARA (AA) - Türkiye’s defense industry will reach a product range that can create an air force from scratch thanks to the development of the basic trainer Hurkus, jet trainer Hurjet and national combat aircraft KAAN, the chief test pilot of Hurkus said.

"Türkiye has made a magnificent move, starting with Hurkus in manned aircraft and Anka in unmanned aircraft, starting with Atak in helicopters and continuing with Gokbey," Murat Ozpala told Anadolu.

He stressed that Hurkus has carried out more than 2,000 hours of test flights to date.

On Monday, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced that KAAN would be the name of Türkiye's fighter jet which was previously known as the national combat aircraft.

KAAN will take off for the first time after completing high-speed taxi tests.

The fifth-generation aircraft was developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) with an aim to replace the Turkish army's aging F-16 fleet.

Hurjet, Türkiye's first indigenous supersonic combat aircraft, made its maiden flight at the end of April.

The aircraft is aiming to replace aging jet trainers and to be "used as Advanced Jet Trainers due to the increasing number of 5th generation aircrafts (TFX, F-35, etc.) and their changing configurations,” according to Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).