Tyrkia presser på med sin egenproduserte 5. generasjons jagerfly - AW&ST

Turkey Presses Ahead With Indigenous Fighter Development Tony Osborne   Turkey’s grand ambition to broaden its indigenous defense industry is beginning to generate returns, yet its vision of becoming one of the world’s top 10 arms suppliers remains intertwined with its increasingly fragile relationship with the U.S. and NATO. Istanbul’s IDEF defense exhibition revealed the extraordinary extent of the country’s defense development efforts. From the TF-X fighter aircraft and main battle tanks to electro-magnetic railguns and antidrone lasers, technology projects have brought about an impressive engineering and skills base and are inspiring a new generation of engineers. But Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 ground-based air and missile defense system is putting a strain on international ties. Washington has warned that acceptance of the S-400 could threaten delivery of the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter and the transcontinental country’s membership in the wider program to which it has belonged since its start. Turkish industry is heavily invested in the F-35, with six companies producing components for the aircraft and its engine. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared in April that the wider F-35 program would collapse without Turkish involvement, but his words, largely for domestic consumption, do not accurately portray the heavy price that the loss of such work and technology transfer represents. The strained relations could hurt other programs. Sales of T129 ATAK attack helicopters to Pakistan are still awaiting U.S. approvals to allow the export of the T800 engine. Development of an indigenous Turkish engine is still more than two years away from completion. Turkey is also considering U.S.-made engines to power the prototypes of its TF-X indigenous fighter, Hurjet jet trainer and future attack helicopter. Even in light of this, Turkey shows few signs of opting for the U.S. offer to buy the Patriot missile defense system instead of receiving the S-400 as scheduled in July—the same month as a rumored visit by U.S. President Donald Trump. On a leafy North London street is the registered office of Turkish Aerospace’s newest international subsidiary. The office is a long way from any of Britain’s aerospace industrial hubs, yet the creation of TR R&T Ltd. late last year is the company’s latest step in its hunt for international engineering talent to support its growing aerospace ambitions, including its most important, the development of an indigenous fifth-generation fighter, the TF-X. Britain is already playing a substantial role in TF-X. Engineers from the UK’s BAE Systems are providing support to the program in Ankara, but Turkish Aerospace (TUSAS) now wants to set up an engineering office in the UK, which, once established, will help support the development efforts of the 3,000 engineers projected to be involved in the fighter project by the mid-2020s. The expectations for the fighter are ambitious. Assuming Ankara’s political travails around the purchase of a Russian air defense system are ironed out, the TF-X is envisioned to be in service alongside the Lockheed Martin F-35 until 2060-70. Each will also be simultaneously funded. However, the timetable for development of the twin-engine, 60,000-lb. (27-metric- ton) aircraft has now been nudged quite significantly to the right. First flight is now planned for 2026, three years later than originally envisaged, although TUSAS aims to at least roll out a prototype ready for the centenary celebrations of the Turkish Republic in 2023. Service entry is still slated for the early 2030s.

Turkish Aerospace is planning to display a full-scale mockup of the TF-X at this year’s Paris Air Show. Credit: Turkish Aerospace

After several years of confusion around the TF-X’s engine choice, General Electric’s F110 has been selected, an engine with which Turkey is already intimately familiar through local firm Tusas Engine Industries (TEI), which assembles and maintains the F110 for the Turkish Air Force’s F-16 fleet. The F110 will power the TF-X prototypes, says TUSAS President and CEO Temel Kotil. The use of the F110 reflects an increase in the power demands for the future aircraft. Previously, TUSAS had been looking at 20,000-lb.-thrust-class engines such as the Eurojet EJ200, but company literature now calls for a powerplant in the 25,000-30,000-lb.-thrust class—apt for an aircraft that will be similar in size to the Lockheed Martin F-22Raptor. Development of a production engine will fall to Ankara-based TR Motor Power Systems, a joint venture of TUSAS and BMC Power Motor—the majority shareholder and part of the larger BMC automotive group. Framework agreements for TR Motor’s work were signed last November, and the company needs to deliver production-standard engines by the early 2030s. “The [TR Motor] team is working, although it is not full-size yet,” Kotil told Aviation Week during the IDEF defense exhibition in Istanbul in early May. While he is optimistic that the company can deliver an advanced fighter engine in just over a decade, historical precedents suggest that could be a challenge. After all, China has struggled with the advanced metallurgies associated with the high-thrust engines for its Chengdu J-20 combat aircraft. Turkey has more access to skilled international engineering knowledge, though. “Of course, in a high-technology program, we know many things can cause issues. . . . But the team already has a basic design; they know the fan diameters, temperatures and so on,” says Kotil. He points to the example of TEI, which is developing a turboshaft engine for the indigenous T625 Gokbey utility helicopter. The company is expected to produce a prototype engine in around 30 months, almost three years earlier than the outlined eight-year plan had envisaged. Two years ago, Rolls-Royce teamed with local company Kale, proposing a new fighter engine using technology from the former’s Trent airliner powerplant, but the agreements with TR Motor appear to suggest a move away from international collaboration. Rolls-Royce and Kale made an improved offer to Ankara last December, which remains in place. During the IDEF show, TUSAS presented a concept of future cockpit technologies. The company is currently envisioning the use of a single wide-area display like that on the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter, but this would be supplemented by the use of a helmet-mounted sight capable of projecting augmented reality displays, which could be manipulated through hand gestures.

TR Motor, a joint venture of Turkish Aerospace and BMC will develop the 25,000-30,000-lb.-thrust-class engine for the TF-X. Credit: TR Motor

Artificial intelligence would support flight leaders, providing the pilot with data and suggestions on which aircraft in the area would be best suited to attack a particular target. Turkish suppliers such as Aselsan are working on avionics systems and sensors, including an indigenous active, electronically scanned array radar. Indigenous weapons are also planned, including a small—1,000-kg (220-lb.)—modular precision-guided munition called Kuzgun, which is being developed by the Tubitak Sage research and development agency. TUSAS’ plans call for the TF-X to be preceded by the supersonic Hurjet jet trainer and light-attack aircraft, a model of which was first revealed at last year’s Farnborough Airshow. “We want to complete the development of Hurjet as early as possible,” says Kotil. “It teaches us about unstable flight, supersonic aerodynamics and flight-control systems.” The internally funded program is seen as a potential replacement for the Turkish Air Force’s Northrop T-38 Talon jet trainers. Recent wind tunnel work has confirmed the configuration of the aircraft; the next step is the preliminary design review planned for the coming weeks. The Eurojet EJ200 and GE F404 are the engine contenders, Kotil says. To prepare for the next steps of fighter development, Kotil has restructured the company: The fighter program now has its own division. Last year, the Turkish government invested in development of the production facilities, which will be able to produce 12 aircraft a year. And then at the IDEF event, TUSAS signed agreements with Canadian company Aiolos to build a supersonic wind tunnel to support the TF-X and other future programs. Wind tunnel work to support the TF-X program is currently being conducted in the UK with the Bedford, England-based Aircraft Research Association. Additional facilities, including a radar cross-section range, are also under tender. Kotil is planning for the British arm to employ 50-100 in the UK and begin hiring soon, he says. Turkish Aerospace has more programs than some of the European OEMs, he points out. “I need good people to support them,” he says.