ISTANBUL --- Turkey's TF-X National Combat Aircraft (MMU) – a joint project by the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) – is preparing for a maiden flight using a domestic engine in 2029.
Work to develop the engine continues at full speed, in cooperation with related institutions, according to Osman Dur, general manager of TR Engine, a new research and development (R&D) center for turboshaft engines.
He said some 80 engineers are working in the national fighter jet's domestic engine project, in cooperation with the Turkish Air Forces Command.
"The engine tests are set to be completed by 2026 or 2027. The MMU's maiden flight with a domestic engine will take place in 2029," he added.
The MMU is a fifth-generation jet with similar features to Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II. The domestically-built aircraft is being developed to replace the Turkish Air Forces Command's F-16 fighters, ahead of the gradual phasing out of the latter throughout the 2030s.
Work to develop the engine continues at full speed, in cooperation with related institutions, according to Osman Dur, general manager of TR Engine, a new research and development (R&D) center for turboshaft engines.
He said some 80 engineers are working in the national fighter jet's domestic engine project, in cooperation with the Turkish Air Forces Command.
"The engine tests are set to be completed by 2026 or 2027. The MMU's maiden flight with a domestic engine will take place in 2029," he added.
The MMU is a fifth-generation jet with similar features to Lockheed Martin's F-35 Lightning II. The domestically-built aircraft is being developed to replace the Turkish Air Forces Command's F-16 fighters, ahead of the gradual phasing out of the latter throughout the 2030s.
(Source: Daily Sabah; published Jan. 10, 2020)
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