Spain’s HURJET purchase boosts Turkey’s defense exports
Haluk Gorgun, secretary of Turkish defense industries, spoke at a press conference at Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) in Ankara, emphasizing that the deal reflects Türkiye’s technological and defense sector advancements over the past two decades. He said that under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Türkiye has become a high-tech producer that meets its own defense needs, shares innovations with allied nations, and steadily strengthens its global market presence.
“This export came with a product that we produced and developed with our own original design. Along with TAI, approximately 200 companies have contributed to the creation of this successful product. Each of them took on significant responsibilities and fulfilled them to the best of their ability, developing a combat training aircraft that is needed worldwide,” Gorgun said.
He added that TAI had already been producing HURJET aircraft for Türkiye’s domestic needs and that Spain’s request followed technical evaluations, discussions with both nations’ air forces, factory visits, and assessments of collaboration opportunities. “We are happy and pleased to be exporting such a high-tech product to our ally Spain, a member of the EU and NATO. This agreement is not just a training aircraft agreement. It's a comprehensive contract encompassing many innovations, including ground systems, simulation systems, maintenance systems, and a cooperation model,” he explained.
Gorgun also noted that the project benefits subcontractors and stimulates development in the sector, which produces roughly 230 different products for about 185 countries.
Looking ahead, the deal opens possibilities for joint technology collaborations, integration of various payloads or subsystems, and the potential for co-developing and exporting future models to third countries. “A Spanish-style version, updated according to Spain's own needs, will also be included in this package. When discussing defense industry exports with friendly and allied countries and those with whom we cooperate, we prioritize the creation of a win-win model. We consider both technological and economic gains mutually. This instills confidence in our counterparts,” Gorgun added.
The agreement, signed on Monday, follows initial arrangements announced in May and authorized in October for the procurement of a modern fighter pilot training system featuring a customized supersonic aircraft. Türkiye’s HURJET project began in August 2017, with the aircraft completing its maiden flight in April 2023. Key milestones included the entry of the first component onto the final assembly line in June 2022, followed by comprehensive ground tests of landing gear, wiring, canopy mechanisms, and full avionics, electrical, and fuel systems.
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