Hürkuş-B prototype 17-101, designed and developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), made a successful maiden flight on January 29 at the company’s Ankara facility. Before the Hürkuş-B is inducted into Turkish service as a lead-in trainer for the Air Force’s F-16 and future F-35 fleets in June, a year or more behind schedule, it must complete 90 flight hours to test its engine, avionics and flight characteristics. TAI president and chief executive officer Dr Temel Kotil said: “Hürkuş-B is 100kg lighter, faster, more modern and stronger than Hürkuş-A. This version has a more stable and comprehensive design.”
Hürkuş-A is a civilian aircraft, but Hürkuş-B was built specifically for Turkey’s and, TAI hopes, other nations’ armed forces.
Hürkuş-B is fitted with full multifunction glass cockpit displays, BAE Systems’ LiteHUD lightweight head-up display in the front cockpit, a mission computer and Martin- Baker’s Mk T16N ejection seats. Ankara has ordered 15 Hürkuş-Bs for the Türk Hava Kuvvetleri (Turkish Air Force), with options on a further 40.
A third version, Hürkuş-C, is being developed for use as a counterinsurgency platform for use in permissive environments.
