TAI Hürkuş

The TAI Hürkuş (Free Bird) is a tandem two-seat, low wing, single engine, turboprop aircraft being developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) as a new basic trainer and ground attack aircraft for the Turkish Armed Forces.

The aircraft is named after Vecihi Hürkuş, a Turkish aviation pioneer and the first Turkish airplane manufacturer.

Design and development
The TAI Hürkuş Development Program started with an agreement signed between Turkish Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (Savunma Sanayii Müsteşarlığı (SSM)) and TAI in March 2006. Under the agreement the company will design, manufacture and complete the civil certification the aircraft to European Aviation Safety Agency CS 23 standards.

By June 2012 the Hürkuş program had consumed one million man-hours with the work of 140 engineers. About a quarter of the Turkish engineers who have worked on Hürkuş are female, as well as two of the three project heads.

The Hürkuş will be equipped for day and night flying as well as basic pilot training, instrument flying, navigation training, weapons and formation training. The aircraft will have good visibility from both cockpits with a 50 degree down-view angle from the rear cockpit, cabin pressurization (nominal 4.16 psid), Martin-Baker Mk T-16 N 0/0 ejection seats, an on-board oxygen generation system (OBOGS), an Environmental Control System (Vapor Cycle Cooling), an anti-G system, high shock absorbing landing gear for training missions, and Hands On Throttle and Stick (HOTAS). Microtecnica of Turin, Italy has been selected to provide the aircraft's environmental control system. The Hürkuş has been designed for a 35-year service life. The Hürkuş development program has been subject to delays. In 2007 it was forecast that the first prototype would fly in late-2009 with first delivery, upon completion of the certification process, forecast for 2011. On 27 June 2012, the Hürkuş was officially rolled out at a ceremony held at TAI's Kazan premises. The forecast date for the first flight was then delayed until later in 2012 and actually occurred on 29 August 2013 when the aircraft flew from the Ankara Akıncı Air Base on a 33-minute flight.

The Turkish government has indicated that the aircraft is expected to attract export sales, possibly from Middle Eastern countries, African countries or countries with limited airforce budgets. According to a news report from CNN Türk, Australia and Sweden are interested in the aircraft.

Variants

 * Hürkuş-A
 * Basic version which has been certified with EASA according to CS-23 requirements. It is intended for the civilian market


 * Hürkuş-B
 * Advanced version with integrated avionics (including HUD, MFDs, and Mission Computer). Cockpit avionics layout is similar to F-16 and F-35 fighters. The Turkish Army is considering an order for 15 aircraft.


 * Hürkuş-C
 * An armed version for the close-air support role will have a maximum weapons load of 3,300lb (1,500kg) and also carry a forward looking infrared (FLIR) sensor. As the Hürkuş will capable of operating from unprepared runways, it could also attract export orders, TAI believes. The Turkish Army has expressed interest in the Hürkuş C to provide support for its attack helicopters.


 * Coast Guard version
 * TAI plans to offer another version of the Hürkuş to support the Turkish Coast Guard's maritime patrol operations. The aircraft's back seat would be occupied by an operator for a FLIR sensor using an ASELSAN FLIR system.