Jet training and light attack aircraft HÜRJET airborne in 2023

TAI General Manager Temel Kotil, “HÜRJET will be airborne in 2023”

Within the scope of the HÜRJET Project initiated by TAI, the need for jet training and light attack aircraft of the Turkish Air Force Command will be met. According to the news in Milliyet newspaper, TAI General Manager Temel Kotil stated that the first warplane, which will be produced as part of the HÜRJET project, would fly in 2023.
It is planned to train future pilots of the future with the HÜRJET Project, which is expected to be put into service instead of T-38 planes used as Advanced Training Aircraft. In the HÜRJET Project carried out by TAI, the “Preliminary Design Review” phase has been successfully completed. The first flight of HÜRJET is planned to be completed in 2022, after the completion of the detailed design, prototype production, and ground tests stages.
The date shared by Kotil raised some questions about whether 2023 is the year for the first flight or the HÜRJET platform will be airborne in 2023. Within the scope of the project, the first flight is already planned to take place in 2022. In the project, it is indicated that there will be a delay in the project due to COVID-19 and therefore the first flight can take place in 2023.

HÜRJET Jet Training and Light Attack Aircraft

HÜRJET will be designed to operate at a maximum speed of 1.2 Mach and a maximum altitude of 45,000 ft and it will include high technology mission and flight systems. HÜRJET’s Light Attack Aircraft model with a payload capacity of 2721 kg, will be armed for use in the armed forces of friendly and allied countries, as well as for missions, close air support, border security, and counterterrorism.
In the ongoing conceptual design phase of the project, single-engine and twin-engine alternatives will be evaluated in the light of the market analysis, and the number of engines will be decided and conceptual design studies will be carried out accordingly. System solutions will be created by contacting suppliers regarding long-term systems.

Main objectives

To develop a cost-effective system solution with the use of existing technologies in order to meet the operational, functional and performance requirements of the Turkish Air Force.
To replace the T-38 fleet of 70 aircraft currently used by the Turkish Air Force. (This number may vary within the scope of “Light Attack Aircraft” needs.)