Amid much ceremony, Turkish Aerospace unveiled a full-scale mock-up of its future Turkish Fighter at the Paris Air Show on 17 June, presenting a fifth-generation design with twin engines and twin canted tail fins.
A full-scale mock-up of the Turkish Fighter was unveiled on the first day of this year's Paris Air Show. (IHS Markit/Patrick Allen)
The development is certainly not short on ambition. Speaking at the unveiling, the president and CEO of Turkish Aerospace, Temel Kotil, promised that it would be “the best fighter in Europe”, make its first flight by 2025 and enter service by 2028.
According to an information board beside the mock-up, the Turkish Fighter will be 21 m long with a wingspan of 14 m and a height of 6 m; will be powered by two engines each developing 27,000 lb of thrust; will have a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 and a service ceiling of 55,000 ft; and will be able to withstand g limits of between +9 and -3.5 g .
In terms of avionics and sensors, the Turkish Fighter is expected to have an active electronically scanned-array radar, electronic warfare capabilities, advanced integrated communications navigation and identification features, an electro-optical targeting system and infrared search and track, and an advanced cockpit and human-machine interface.
Regarding weapons, Kotil explicitly mentioned that the Turkish Fighter would carry the Meteor beyond-visual-range air-to-air missile in his speech at the unveiling. This MBDA weapon, along with the company’s Spear stand-off air-to-surface attack weapon and Advanced Short Range Air-to-Air Missile, were displayed beside the mock-up along with a range of indigenous Turkish weapons. including Gokdogan short-range and Bozgodan medium-range AAMs; SOM cruise missiles, HGK and KGK precision-guided munitions; and Teber-82 and LGK-84 laser-guided bombs.
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