According to Turkish Aerospace’s statement on social media, Hürjet, after taking off from the Mürted Air Station, reached Mach 1.01 for the first time. Prior to the test, the Turkish Governorship of Ankara announced to inform the citizens about the sonic booms that would occur during the flight test. Turkish Aerospace released a video from Hürjet test flights but video did not include transonic moments.
Hürjet has been designed to reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.4 at altitude. In the previous test related to speed, Hürjet hit the transonic region at Mach 0.9 (The transonic region is considered between Mach 0.8 and 1.2 in most cases), where drag increases drastically until the speed of sound is reached. The moment the aircraft flies faster than sound, a sonic boom is heard, and the visual effect of a wall similar to water vapor is seen.
Hürjet’s F404 turbofan engine can provide supersonic thrust with the afterburner, as exemplified by KAI’s T/FA-50 advanced trainer/light combat aircraft and F-20 Tigershark light fighter.
With deliveries to the Turkish Air Force scheduled for 2025, Spain and Egypt are interested in the trainer. The former has shortlisted Hürjet in the tender to replace the ageing F-5s in trainer configuration.
