The first prototype of Turkey’s TF-X next-generation fighter jet has reportedly completed a series of taxi tests ahead of its formal rollout tomorrow. Temel Kotil, CEO of the aircraft’s manufacturer, Turkish Aerospace Industries, said in January that the jet could make its maiden flight this year.
Turkey’s state-run Defense Industry Agency, or Savunma Sanayii Başkanlığı (SSB), has released a set of pictures of the apparently complete, or at least near complete, TF-X prototype on the runway at an unspecified location. The photographs are likely from Turkish Aerospace Industries’ facilities in Ankara, where construction of the aircraft is known to have been occurring. This company, also known by its Turkish acronym TUSAS, has been leading the development of this aircraft under a program formally known as the Milli Muharip Ucak (MMU), or National Combat Aircraft project.
“We said that we would take our National Combat Aircraft out of the hangar on March 18. Our plane is on the runway today!” Ismail Demir, the current SSB chief, wrote on Twitter, according to a machine translation of his post. “Hopefully, under the leadership of @RTErdogan [Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan]…
