Turkey intends to accelerate work on creating its own fighter TF-X
Turkey intends to accelerate the creation of its own fighter under the TF-X program. This decision was made against the backdrop of announced intentions to permanently deprive Ankara of the fifth-generation American fighter F-35. About this writes the British edition of The Guardian.
Turkey announced its intention to unfreeze an agreement with the British company Rolls-Royce to jointly create an engine for a promising Turkish aircraft.
An agreement worth 100 million pounds to establish a joint venture, within the framework of which the development of the engine was supposed to take place, as well as its subsequent production, was signed in 2017. In March 2019, it was actually frozen due to disagreements about the parties' intellectual property rights. The second reason for the freeze was the offer of alternative deliveries of aircraft, including from Russia.
In the event of resuming joint development with Rolls-Royce of the engine for the TF-X fighter, Turkey wants to show the US Congress that it has alternative ways to get the latest fighters in case of supply failure to her American F-35.
The promising Turkish fighter TF-X (MMU) is being developed jointly by Turkish Aircraft Corporation Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in collaboration with BAE Systems. The first flight of the first prototype TF-X is scheduled for 2023 year. By design, the TF-X is reminiscent of the fifth-generation American fighter, it is smaller in size than the F-22, but slightly larger than the F-35.
The Air Force plans to replace most of its American F-16C / D Viper fighters with it and hopes that the first deliveries to the troops will begin in the 2028 year.
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