Turkish TF-X Fighter and Hurjet Trainer Prototypes Begin Taxi Tests
The Turkish Defense Industry Agency has announced the start of taxi tests of prototypes of its indigenous TF-X stealth fighter and Hurjet advanced jet trainer.
Turkey’s procurement agency head Ismail Demir announced that the TF-X had been “taken out of the hangar” on March 17, a day ahead of the stealth fighter’s planned rollout on March 18. The announcement was complemented by the release of photographs of the TF-X undergoing taxiing tests, with Demir saying that he hoped that the current Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would be able to see it make its first flight.
Demir dedicated the milestone to the martyrs of the Battle for Çanakkale, with the March 18 date having been intended to fall on the 108th anniversary of the naval battle in the Dardanelles. Also known as Martyr’s Day, the day commemorates the Turkish victory during the Gallipoli campaign (as it is more commonly referred to outside Turkey), and the service of Turkish veterans and war dead.
The prototype TF-X appears to be using two General Electric F110 engines, as used in Turkish F-16s and produced under license by Tusas Engine Industries in Turkey. Prototype TF-Xs are planned to be powered by F110s while an indigenously developed jet engine is selected and developed for the production TF-X, although Demir has suggested that early production TF-Xs may use the F110s as well.
The TF-X prototype appears to be equipped with an infra-red search and track (IRST) sensor housed in an aperture ahead of the cockpit’s front edge. Another sensor is mounted underneath the aircraft’s nose in a position reminiscent of the F-35’s electro-optical targeting system.
On March 18, Demir then announced the start of taxi tests of the Hurjet advanced jet trainer, uploading a video of the Hurjet prototype taxiing. Turkish Aerospace CEO Temel Kotil also uploaded a video showing the prototype trainer being towed out of its hangar, with the video showing the taxiing test from inside the prototype’s cockpit. In a separate post, Kotil dedicated the presentation of the TF-X, Hurjet and Anka 3 prototypes to the martyrs of Çanakkale, saying that the company would deliver on its promises to the “Century of Turkey”.