Turkey is facing a steep climb as it works to complete development of it’s TF-X fighter jet or risk seeing its air fleet fall into obsolescence.
The TF-X is a proposed fifth generation fighter jet, meaning it would be able to incorporate the latest stealth, sensor and flight technologies to compete on the modern battlefield. Initially announced in 2013, the TF-X programme has been beset by delays from Turkey’s inability to acquire or produce the components needed to bring it into service. It was first expected to test a prototype by 2023, but now it is not expected to be in service until 2029.
Justin Bronk, a research fellow on airpower at the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI) in London, remarks that Turkey’s the victim of its own ambition of looking to develop the current most advanced form of a fighter aircraft without any prior experience in doing so.