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ISTANBUL—GE Aerospace and Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) have signed a contract on the supply of F404 engines for use on TAI’s Hurjet jet trainer.
The contract, announced on the sidelines of the Saha defense exposition here May 5, does not indicate how many engines will be supplied, but officials close to the programs have told Aviation Week that it covers the delivery of up to 200, reflecting TAI’s prospects for the indigenous jet trainer.
The contract builds on a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed at the 2024 Farnborough Airshow through which TAI, GE Aerospace and TUSAS Engine Industries (TEI), an aero engine company owned by TAI, would evaluate and collaborate on the F404’s integration into the Hurjet.
Since then, the Hurjet program has been bolstered by orders from both Turkey and more recently from Spain, which will use the platform as its future lead-in fighter trainer.
GE Aerospace says the latest contract “ensures continued technical and operational support” for the Hurjet program as it “expands its footprint and advances future variants.” But it makes no mention of whether TEI, GE’s partner in the local assembly of the F110 engine for Turkey’s F-16 fleet, will assemble and support the F404 engines for the Turkish Hurjets. The earlier MOU had hinted at this.
Mehmet Demiroğlu, TAI’s CEO, said the deal was a “critical milestone” for the Hurjet program.
On the same day, TAI, domestic engine developers TRMotor and TEI signed agreements on the development of subsystems for the TF35000 engine that will power the indigenous Kaan combat aircraft. TEI is the lead on the development of the engine, while TRMotor has developed the Kaan’s auxiliary power unit and air turbine starting system.
Joining the two engine companies in the first phase of development of further undisclosed subsystems will be Alp Aviation, Harpax System Technologies, IDAK Aerosystems, TAAC Aerospace Technologies and PCS Test & Otomasyon. TRMotor officials told Aviation Week an agreement for a second phase of subsystem work would be signed in June or July.
Turkish news outlet Anadolu Agency reported that Gökhan Uçar, deputy head of Turkish defense industry agency SSB, said that design of the TF35000 had reached a “significant level of maturity” and a contract for finalizing the design and producing prototypes for testing will be signed shortly.
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