Making History, Turkey's 5th Generation Stealth Fighter Jet First Leaves Hangar: Use Smart Ammunition, Substitute for F-16

JAKARTA - Turkey's aviation and defense industry made history again, when the fifth-generation stealth fighter jet TF-X left its hangar in the middle of last month, according to an announcement made by the Chairman of the Defense Industry Presidency (SSB), Ismail Demir.

"In memory of our martyrs! We said that we will take our National Combat Aircraft out of the hangar on March 18. Our plane is on the runway today! Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, God willing, we will see it soaring in the skies of our homeland," Minister Demir said on Twitter, referring to the 108th anniversary of the Turkish naval victory on the Gallipoli peninsula.

Developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the TF-X MMU has technologies and features found in fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

The aircraft will provide the capability to strategically engage air-to-air and air-to-ground targets. The aircraft has a fully domestic infrastructure for secure data sharing and use of smart munitions.

Furthermore, the TF-X MMU, equipped with high-performance radar, electronic warfare, electro-optics, communications, navigation and identification capabilities, will achieve increased combat power with precision and accurate firing from internal high-velocity/supersonic weapon slots.

In addition, the aircraft also has automatic target recognition and detection capabilities, multiple data fusion and artificial intelligence capabilities.

The Turkish-developed fighter will replace the F-16 aircraft in the inventory of the Air Force Command, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s.

With the TF-X MMU, Turkey is one of the few countries with the infrastructure and technology to manufacture fifth-generation fighter aircraft as a result of developing projects in technology areas such as low visibility, internal weapons slots, high maneuverability, increased situational awareness, and sensor fusion, all of which are required for the new generation of aircraft.