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The Turkish Aerospace Hürjet advanced jet trainer, the country’s first indigenously produced supersonic-capable jet aircraft, achieved its maiden flight on 25 April 2023.

Flying out of Turkish Aerospace’s facility 20 km northwest of Ankara with Chief Test Pilot Ercan Çelik at the controls, the Hürjet was airborne for 26 minutes, during which it reached a speed of 250 kts (463 km/h) and attained an attitude of 14,000 ft.

As the aircraft landed and Çelik disembarked, he was embraced by Dr Ismail Demir, President of the Turkish Defence Industry Agency (SSB), in front of an applauding crowd.

With the first completed Hürjet prototype unveiled in Ankara in December 2022, Turkish Aerospace had originally planned to conduct the maiden flight of the Hürjet on 18 March, but the devastating earthquake that struck Turkey and Syria on 6 February inevitably delayed the programme. However, on 18 March the SSB did post a video taken that day of the Hürjet conducting taxiing trials.

The first prototype Hürjet advanced jet trainer pictured during its maiden flight out of Turkish Aerospace’s facility 20 km northwest of Ankara on 25 April 2023. (Photo: Turkish Aerospace)

Currently powered by a General Electric F404 turbofan, the Hürjet is designed to have a maximum speed of Mach 1.4, a service ceiling of 13,716 m (45,000 ft), a climb rate of 39,000 ft/minute, a range of 2,222 km and a payload capacity of 2,721 kg.

As well as being positioned as a platform that could replace older advanced jet trainers (AJTs) such as the Northrop T-38, Aero L-39 and BAE Systems Hawk with an aircraft that could train fifth-generation fighter pilots, the Hürjet is billed as a potent yet affordable light attack platform: potentially an attractive proposition for air forces that cannot afford to operate a full-on jet-powered strike aircraft fleet.

Turkish Aerospace has already secured orders from the Turkish government for four Hürjet Block 0 prototypes and 12 initial Block 1 AJT-configured aircraft as replacements for the Turkish Air Force’s T-38 Talon AJTs.

Peter Felstead