Is Spain edging towards a Hürjet purchase?
December 21, 2024
The Republic of Turkey Ministry of National Defence greeted the MoU by writing that: “The Memorandum of Understanding that will form the basis of our co-operation with our NATO ally Spain on the Jet Training Aircraft Project was signed between our Presidency of Defence Industries and the Spanish Ministry of Defence. This memorandum of understanding will further strengthen our cooperation with our allies in the field of defence industry and further consolidate our country’s success in the field of defence industry. We congratulate our Presidency of Defence Industries and all stakeholders who contributed to this historic signature.”
The Secretary of Turkish Defence Industries, Haluk Gorgun said of the MoU signing that: “Today, we are proud to witness another historic step in the defence industry,” and noted that the Memorandum of Understanding would: “form the basis of our co-operation with our old NATO ally Spain on the Jet Training Aircraft Project.”
It has been estimated that Spain would need 24 Hürjets to replace its 19 surviving SF-5M advanced trainer aircraft (designated as the AE.9 by the Spanish MoD), and unconfirmed reports earlier in the year suggested that Spain had offered to sell six A400Ms to the Turkish Air Force in exchange a Spanish purchase of 24 Hürjets.
After Turkish media reported that a Spanish delegation was expected to inspect and evaluate the aircraft in Turkey Spain actually evaluated the Hurjet prototype at Torrejon air base, near Madrid between late July and early August 2024. This forced TUSAS to cancel the aircraft’s planned participation in the Farnborough International Airshow.
No details have been revealed about the planned procurement, though the official statement from the Spanish Ministry of Defence did mentions that Spain would have some industrial participation in the Hürjet programme. This presumably refers to more than the existing participation by Cadiz-based Airtificial, which is involved in manufacturing active and passive flight control components under the terms of a two-phase US $2.8 million contract signed in April 2024.
The Northrop SF-5M Freedom Fighters assigned to Ala 23 at Talavera La Real Air Base are being upgraded by the Israeli company IAI to extend their operational life until 2030, though reports suggest that Spain hopes to induct a new jet trainer by 2028.
Spain has evaluated the Boeing T-7 Red Hawk, KAI T-50/FA-50 Golden Eagle, and Leonardo M-346 as well as the Hürjet, and was the original intended launch customer for Airbus’ own Airbus Future Jet Trainer (AFJT), announced in 2020 its to meet the requirement for training pilots for fifth-generation and next-generation combat aircraft. The Spanish Ministry of Defence reportedly said that there were no funds available for contributing to the development of the new aircraft, and when Airbus and Leonardo signed an MoU in 2023 to jointly promote integrated training systems on the European Advanced Trainer market, (based on the Leonardo M-346) many suspected that the AFJT project was effectively moribund.
