• Air Warfare

  Turkish Air Force F-16 fighter upgrade moves ahead with first deliveries

  23rd May 2023

  The Ozgur upgrade to Turkish Air Force F-16 jets, carried out by Turkish Aerospace industries, claims to bring the aircraft up to a standard equivalent to the latest Block 70/72 model, using domestically developed avionics and subsystems.

• Air Warfare

  Turkiye’s strong desire to buy F-16 from US persists, defying previous statements

  1st June 2023

  Turkiye's renewed interest in the long-gestating F-16 deal, despite geopolitical hurdles and a potential ban on adding indigenous weapons, highlights the significance of this strategic acquisition for Ankara's military capabilities.

• Defence Helicopter

  Turkiye's Gokbey helicopter marks first indigenous engined flight

  4th May 2023

  On April 22, 2023, Turkish Aerospace’s T-625 GOKBEY general-purpose helicopter conducted a test flight with an indigenous TEI-TS1400 engine for the first time.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  TAI debuts Anka-3 flying wing combat drone

  27th March 2023

  The UCAV is designed to operate alongside crewed fighter jets such as Turkey’s future TF-X.

• Air Warfare

  TAI confirms Hürkuş-C deliveries to Niger and Chad

  2nd November 2022

  Turkish Aerospace Industries will deliver the Hürkuş-C to Niger and Chad in the coming months and the company is confident that more orders will come from African countries soon.

• Air Warfare

  Thai C-130H capability upgrades reach completion

  28th September 2022

  With eight aircraft upgrades completed, four Royal Thai Air Force C-130Hs remain to be worked on in 2023.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  Anka flies the flag for Turkey in Kazakhstan

  24th May 2022

  A recent agreement to produce Anka UAVs holds deep geopolitical significance for Turkey.

• Air Warfare

  DSA 2022: TAI affirms commitment to Malaysia even if bids fail

  30th March 2022

  Even if it is unsuccessful in bids for MALE UAV and light combat/trainer aircraft programmes, Turkish Aerospace (TAI) executives confirmed to Shephard that the company aims to build ‘long-term relationships’ in Malaysia.

• Training

  Hürjet stays in the hunt for Malaysian tender as serial production looms

  25th January 2022

  TAI plans to build up to seven Hürjet single-engine, tandem-seat advanced supersonic trainer and light combat aircraft in the first year of mass production, followed by 24 per year thereafter.

• Air Warfare

  Acceleration is the name of the game for TF-X

  21st January 2022

  With the backing of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkish Aerospace recently opened a new engineering centre to speed up its work on the TF-X indigenous fighter programme.

• Naval Warfare

  LAW complements traditional amphibious ships, says USMC head

  9th February 2022

  Under its Force Design 2030, the USN and USMC envisage a fleet of 24-35 Light Amphibious Warships that can operate in regions such as the Indo-Pacific for up 30 days at a time.

• Uncrewed Vehicles

  ‘Brotherly’ Pakistan-Turkey ties include UAV procurement

  26th January 2022

  The Pakistan Air Force is expected to unveil Bayraktar TB2 UAVs in March 2022, as it seeks to gain an advantage over Indian air defences.

• Air Warfare

  Asian attack helicopter programmes prove less than straightforward

  11th January 2022

  There are several ongoing attack helicopter programmes in Asia, but they are not all proceeding smoothly.

• Air Warfare

  Simsek target drone bares its teeth

  11th November 2021

  Turkish Aerospace has converted a target drone into a kamikaze aircraft — but there is no sign yet of a timeline for entry into service.

• Air Warfare

  Turkish Navy receives the first domestically produced Aksungur UAV

  21st October 2021

  Turkish Navy has received its first Aksungur UAV, which achieved an important milestone in August when it reached 1,000 flight hours.

Programme Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Algeria]

  Programme Background Algerian media outlets reported in early October 2022 that the Algerian Air Force had acquired six Aksungur UAVs from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). Forecast Methodology ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Turkish Air Force]

  Programme Background First Flight & Contract Award The platform's maiden flight was completed on 20 March 2019, and it was first publicly shown at IDEF ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Turkish Navy]

  Programme Background First Flight & Contract Award The platform's maiden flight was completed on 20 March 2019, and it was first publicly shown at IDEF ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Kazakhstan]

  Programme Background In 2018, Shephard reported that TAI had made another effort to promote its products to Kazakstan. Three years before a contract was noted, Tamer ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Chad]

  Programme Background Hurkus Trainer Aircraft On 10 July 2023, President General Mahamat Idriss Déby Itno visited an air base to inspect the country's new Hurkus trainer ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (First Batch) [Turkey]

  Programme Background Orders In February 2018, TAI announced that it had delivered the first Anka-S UAVs to the Turkish Air Force. In late 2018, Savunmasanay ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  T129 (Nigeria)

  Programme Background Requirement The Nigerian Air Force has an ongoing requirement for attack helicopters in order to assist the country's ongoing counter-insurgency operations. Nigeria already ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - small

  Cargo UAV (Turkey)

  Programme Background Inception & Requirment Turkey's Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) initiated a programme to procure VTOL-capable cargo drones in June 2018. These were planned for ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Malaysia]

  Programme Background Inception Malaysia's desire to acquire a MALE UAV dates back to 2009 when it announced it would be the first country in the ...

• Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-B [Türkiye]

  Programme Background TAI announced in November 2019 that it had delivered a total of 22 Anka-B UAVs to the Turkish Navy. Two large contracts contributing ...

• Light attack, Trainer

  Hurkus C (Niger)

  Programme Background  In late April 2021, TAI President and CEO Temel Kotil claimed in an interview with CNN Turk TV that an export customer for Hürkuş-C had ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur [Angola]

  Programme Background Bilateral Agreement The Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Angolan counterpart João Manuel Gonçalves Lourenço signed a bilateral agreement in Ankara, Turkey, ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S [Indonesia]

  Programme Background Requirement Indonesia wanted to acquire or produce a MALE UAV to operate at different air bases around Indonesia to cover the archipelago.  Procurement Over Production Early ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Akinci [Indonesia]

  Programme Background Naval Ambition The Indonesian Navy Admiral Muhammad Ali announced an initiative to purchase Turkish UCAVs as part of a broader strategy to enhance and develop ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S (Nigeria)

  Programme Background Domestic Production Possibility As reported by TurDef, a defence news outlet focussing on Turkey, in March 2023, İsmail Yusuf Abba, Nigeria's ambassador to Ankara, stated at ...

Equipment Results - Defence Insight

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Aksungur

  The Aksungur is a twin-engined MALE UAS manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) for the Turkish Armed Forces. TAI completed the platform's maiden flight on 20 March ...

• Military UAS - rotary-wing, Military UAS - tactical

  Rotary Wing Cargo UAV

  Displayed at Paris Air Show 2023, the Rotary Wing Cargo UAV is a cargo-carrying and ISR drone manufactured by Turkish Aerospace (TAI). Powered by a ...

• Fighter - air superiority, Fighter - multirole

  Kaan

  Kaan (previously called TF-X and MMU) is a fifth-generation stealth-twin engine air superiority fighter jet in development by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), and BAE Systems as its subcontractor. The ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-B

  The Anka-B, or Anka Block B, is a MALE UAS manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI). An improved version of the Anka-A, the Anka-B completed its ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - MALE

  Anka-S

  Anka-S is a medium-altitude long-endurance UAV produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) designed to meet the requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces. The system has also been exported ...

• Military helicopters - transport/heavy lift

  T70

  The T70i is a 10t utility helicopter in a military configuration that is suitable for CSAR and offshore operations. The platform is currently under development ...

• Fighter - ground attack, ISR/special mission

  Hürkuş-C

  The Hürkuş-C is a light attack and reconnaissance aircraft developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries based on the Hürkuş trainer to meet the requirements of the ...

• Uncrewed aerial systems engines

  PD170

  The PD170 is a turbodiesel engine initially developed to meet the engine requirement of Turkish Aerospace Industries' indigenous Anka UAV. Development began in December 2012 ...

• Air: aerial targets, Loitering munitions

  Super Simsek

  The Super Simsek (Süper Şimşek) is an improved version of the Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) training drone turned loitering munition.  The drone has reconfigurable payload options ...

• EO/IR systems

  Star SAFIRE 380-HLD

  The FLIR Star SAFIRE 380-HLD is a full-HD multi-spectral targeting system with image stabilisation, ultra-long-range imaging performance, and metadata embedded in digital video.  Manufactured by Teledyne ...

• Military helicopters - attack

  Multirole Heavy Combat Helicopter

  The Multirole Heavy Combat Helicopter is an attack helicopter being developed by Turkish Aerospace to meet the operational requirements of the Turkish Armed Forces, including air-to-ground ...

• Military UAS - fixed-wing, Military UAS - HALE

  Anka-3

  The Anka-3 MIUS, or Anka-III, is a developmental low-observable flying wing UCAV from Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).  The UCAV has been designed to work alongside Turkey's ...

• Loitering munitions

  Kargi

  The Kargi is an in-development loitering munition that Lentatek has developed in collaboration with the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkey (TÜBITAK), Aselsan and Turkish Aerospace ...

• Air: Helmet-mounted displays

  Tulgar

  Aselsan Tulgar is a developmental helmet-mounted display for fixed-wing aircraft. Built using lightweight composite materials, it provides high-resolution colour symbology and a 40-degree field of vision for ...

• Minehunters

  Sugashima Class

  The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force operates 11 Sugashima-class coastal minehunters. The first entered service in 1999, and the last in 2007. They are similar in design ...