Turkish TFX specifications

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has now officially released specifications of its TFX, Mili Muharebe Uçaği (National Combat Aircraft). The twin-engine, all-weather, fifth-generation air-superiority fighter is designed to complement the Turk Hava Kuvvetleri’s (Turkish Air Force’s) future fleet of F-35 Lightning IIs and replace its F-16s. Production is expected to run until 2070. First flight of the largely indigenously built aircraft is scheduled for 2023. BAE Systems was awarded a contract worth over £100 million in January 2017 to help design the TFX. Under the four-year contract, BAE systems is to provide 400 man hours of engineering consulting and technical support to TAI. Upon its completion, BAE Systems is expected to receive another contract to support the development of the TFX in Turkey. Rolls-Royce was for a long time considered sharing the larger part of the engine design effort through co-operation with Kale Group. The two companies share 49% and 51% respectively of TAEC Uçak Motor Sanyasi AS, which was formed in May 2017 to provide turbofan engines for the TFX. However perhaps, in the light of Lockheed Martin’s experience with the F-35, the Turks have decided to keep their options open on engines and other systems.

Aprototype of the Su-57 fighter made its first flight powered by the new NPO Saturn Izdeliye 30 (product 30 engine) on 3 December 2017. The ‘second-stage’ powerplant, flown on the portside of prototype Su-57 ‘052’ (T-50-2), will be used on a series production aircraft from 2020. The 17-minute maiden flight with the new engine was conducted at the Gromov Flight Research Institute at Zhukovsky, with test pilot Sergei Bogdan at the controls. Sukhoi has so far completed and flown nine flighttest prototypes of the Su-57 powered by NPO Saturn Izdeliye 117 engines, derived from the AL-41F-1S which powers the Su-35. It was previously announced that the Izdeliye 30 would first be tested on an Il-76LL test bed.