Türkiye’s indigenous light combat aircraft Hurjet makes maiden flight

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - Hurjet, Türkiye's first indigenous supersonic combat aircraft, made its maiden flight on Tuesday, the country’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Twitter.

The aircraft is the fruit of an advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft project that was launched in 2017 by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

The single-engine aircraft fulfills a critical role in modern pilot training through its superior performance characteristics thanks to its tandem seat with modern avionics and high-performance features, according to TAI.

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,” it said.

The 13.4-meter (44 feet) Hurjet has a wingspan of 9.5 meters (31 feet).