Maiden flight of Hürjet No.2
The second Hürjet prototype (PT-2, TUS-A003), remained airborne for 26 minutes on its first flight, reaching a speed of 260 knots and an altitude of 10,000 feet, with an F-16D…
November 21, 2024
The second Hürjet prototype (PT-2, TUS-A003), remained airborne for 26 minutes on its first flight, reaching a speed of 260 knots and an altitude of 10,000 feet, with an F-16D flying ‘chase’. The aircraft bore the names of the TAI employees (and the taxi driver) who were killed in a terrorist attack in October. The fallen TAI employees were Zahide Guclu Ekici, Hasan Huseyin Canbaz, Atakan Sahin Erdogan, Cengiz Coskun, and Murat Arslan.
TAI CEO Mehmet Demiroglu celebrated the flight, and said that: “The second Hürjet prototype, which carries the names of our martyrs to the sky, has completed its first flight. This success once again proved the strength of our engineering capabilities. With the power and belief of Turkish engineering, we work day and night for a fully independent Türkiye! I wholeheartedly congratulate all my colleagues who contributed.”
This first flight of the second prototype follows another programme milestone – the first supersonic flight. This was achieved by the first prototype on 21 October, which thereby became the first indigenous Turkish aircraft to break the sound barrier.
Compared to the first prototype, the second aircraft is in the planned light-combat-aircraft configuration, fitted with wingtip missile launch rails for two Bozdoğan or Sidewinder short range AAMs. The aircraft also has a recontoured nose to allow an Aselsan-developed Murad active electronically scanned array radar to be fitted. There have also been minor modifications to the aircraft’s air intakes, which now incorporate splitter plates.
The Hürjet was designed as a replacement for the T-38 Talon advanced trainers used by the Turkish Air Force, and the NF-5 Freedom Fighters of the Turkish Stars aerobatics team, but with an eye on the export market, too. This drove the aircraft’s development as a cost-effective Light Combat Aircraft (LCA) as well as an advanced trainer.
First deliveries to Türkiye are planned for 2026.
The Hürjet programme was initiated in August 2017 under the co-ordination of the Secretariat of Defence Industries (SSB), and a mock-up was displayed at the 2018 Farnborough International Airshow. The prototype made its maiden flight in April 2023. The aircraft missed its planned international debut at Farnborough to undertake an evaluation in Spain, and instead made its first appearance at the Egypt air show.
