Turkish Aerospace announced on social media that the Hürkuş aircraft, which will be used to train Turkish Air Force pilots, had completed its first flight.
In a statement on social media, TUSAŞ stated, “HÜRKUŞ, which will be delivered to our Air Force for the training of our pilots, successfully completed its flight.” The statement included the following technical information about the flight.
✅6,500 feet altitude
✅ 140-knot speed
✅20 minutes flight time
TUSAŞ General Manager Dr. Mehmet Demiroğlu, who made a statement about the flight on his account, said, “HÜRKUŞ, which will enter the inventory of our Air Force in a short time, successfully completed its flight. Seeing our dreams come true one by one shows how close we are to our future goals.”
Demiroğlu also referred to the terrorist attack on TUSAŞ in October and said, “HURKUŞ proudly carried the picture drawn by the daughter of our colleague Ms Zahide, who was martyred in the treacherous terrorist attack.
I want to thank all my colleagues who contributed to this flight, which we watched with bated breath. I respectfully commemorate all our martyrs.”
Changes were made to the Hürkuş aircraft built by TUSAŞ, which had its own resources in line with the demands of the Turkish Air Force. This aircraft, adapted to the requirements for pilot training, was named Hürkuş II. The first Hürkuş made its first flight in 2013 and was sold abroad to be used in ISR and CAS missions.
While changes were made to the aircraft’s external geometry following the Turkish Air Force’s demands, the localisation rate was increased by taking advantage of the passing time.
In this context, many pieces of equipment, such as the canopy, cooling system, hydraulic pump, radio, and IFF of the aircraft, were made locally and nationally.
TUSAŞ and the Secretariat of Defence Industries signed a contract for 55-aircraft. The first 15 aircraft will be delivered to the Turkish Air Force as of 2025. The delivery of the remaining 40 aircraft will be completed by 2027.
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