The TF-X (Turkish Fighter - Experimental)

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Some high quality images of the TF-X

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EDIT: Pic released today. Back when the TF-X was transferred to FAL.

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Hydraulic tests will commence at 17:00 today. Engine integration was done in 2 hours like aforementioned. Fuel system tests were also successful. GTU-0 will make her maiden flight at the end of 2023.

TF-X will be able to autonomously return to base in case the pilot faints.

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A brief look into TAI...

-Anka-3 is being assembled.
-Hürkuş-II is being manufactured.
-Hürjet's static test prototype is undergoing tests, the flying prototype has come off the assembly line. Standing on her own landing gears now.
-TF-X is at a slightly more advanced stage. System integration tests are currently underway.
-F-16's are being brought to the Özgür standard via a modernization program that also extends the life of the airframes.
-There probably are further programs that are not yet announced... We know Turkey is working on 6th gen platforms. This got confirmed by ASELSAN.
 
Is it me, or is this aircraft coming together VERY quickly?
The structural team has done a fantastic job. Head technicians and engineers have apparently worked 72 hours non-stop. But perhaps most importantly, TAI has innovated. We know via reliable sources that they've figured out an interesting way of assembling the aircraft.
 
The structural team has done a fantastic job. Head technicians and engineers have apparently worked 72 hours non-stop. But perhaps most importantly, TAI has innovated. We know via reliable sources that they've figured out an interesting way of assembling the aircraft.

It's not the construction. It's the systems integration. The engines were delivered and then, almost immediately, they were installed. Systems integration can take a lot of time, particularly when computers control everything. As each new subsystem is installed, it needs to be tested and then all previously-installed subsystems need to be retested to ensure nothing was broken when the new subsystem was brought in. You really can't accelerate that, and going fast on a prototype is a dumb idea, IMHO, because you are constantly identifying unknown issues. Going fast usually means a bunch of problems later as the team tries to de-bug issues that could have been readily identified at the subsystem integration phase.
 
It's not the construction. It's the systems integration. The engines were delivered and then, almost immediately, they were installed. Systems integration can take a lot of time, particularly when computers control everything. As each new subsystem is installed, it needs to be tested and then all previously-installed subsystems need to be retested to ensure nothing was broken when the new subsystem was brought in. You really can't accelerate that, and going fast on a prototype is a dumb idea, IMHO, because you are constantly identifying unknown issues. Going fast usually means a bunch of problems later as the team tries to de-bug issues that could have been readily identified at the subsystem integration phase.
Oh system integration... They're actually taking their time and not rushing it.

Yes engine integration was done in 2 hours. But they were dismounted immediately after. They constantly remove the canopy and the systems of the aircraft and put them back on once more. They do hydraulic and electrical tests in the process. They identify a lot of problems whilst doing so. So no, they're not really rushing the system integration phase.
 
National Combat Aircraft Group Presidency has just been established.


View: https://twitter.com/SavunmaSanayiST/status/1625766724694941702?s=20&t=IvKDLZC3aWYPfe5BsVCVfQ

The "National Combat Aircraft Group Presidency" was established under the Presidency of Defense Industries. The newly established Group Presidency will focus solely on the TF-X Project.

It is considered that this change will make significant contributions to the speed of decisions to be taken regarding the TF-X program. On the other hand, other aircraft projects such as HÜRJET and HÜRKUŞ will be carried out by the Aircraft Department as before. Within the "TF-X Department", there are staff from the Air Force Command with the rank of Brigadier General.
 
TF-X started her engines and taxied on the runway for the very first time.

EDIT: This news is currently awaiting confirmation. But the taxiing on the runway bit was either exaggerated or misinterpreted in my honest opinion.
 
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The contracts for the Detail Design and Clarification Phase, which is planned to be completed by the last quarter of 2028, are expected to be signed at the DSEI 2023 fair to be held in England in September, when the CDR process of the Block 10 aircraft will be completed. It is anticipated that the Detail Design and Clarification Phase and IOC/FOC will cost approximately $7.3 billion, with an additional $14 billion required for mass production of the 5th generation MMU/TF-X warplanes. While the unit cost for prototype aircraft is estimated at 120 million dollars, it is estimated that mass production TF-X aircraft will cost 80 million dollars.

The materials used in the under structure of the MMU/TF-X aircraft are as follows:

-Forward Fuselage: 7050 T7451 aluminum alloy

-Forward-mid Fuselage: 7050 T7451 aluminum alloy. It is 5 meters wide, 4.2 meters long and 2.2 meters high, with a structural weight of 1470 kilograms.

-Wing Module System: Titanium. This section of the fuselage of the MMU/TF-X aircraft was built vertically and manufactured in one piece with the wings. Total weight of the structure is 2125 kilograms.

-Aft Fuselage System: Titanium. Its total weight is 3945 kilograms.

As things stand, the TF-X is larger and lighter than the F-22 Raptor.

In the MMU/TF-X aircraft, composite materials, namely UD, Uni-Directional epoxy resin impregnated Carbon Prepreg is used as the Body Shell. The design of the monolithic air intakes of the aircraft, which is made of composite materials using the hand layup method, features an S-duct geometry. It starts from the front body and extends to the rear engine section, 6 on the left and right, a total of 12. There are two Horizontal Stabilizers on the aircraft. A single one of these control surfaces is as large as the wing of an F-16. It is 2.9 meters wide, 4.1 meters long, 0.4 meters high, and weighs 235 kilograms.

In the information sharing about the MMU/TF-X GTU/P0 prototype, it was stated that they do not have any definitive data on the size and weight of the aircraft, because the figures supposedly emerged as the design got finalized and the domestic subsystems used in the aircraft were delivered. For instance, since the main and nose landing gears used in the aircraft have not been produced before, there is no weight information available for the landing gears, as the weight may increase or decrease when the quality of the material changes during the production, testing and delivery processes. Therefore, it is possible that there will be differences between the previously shared technical specifications of the aircraft and the technical specifications of the GTU/P0 and the next 7 prototypes. In the posters in the MMU hangar, the maximum speed of the aircraft is specified as Mach 2, the maximum ceiling altitude is 60,000 feet, the service ceiling is 55,000 feet, the maximum weight is 20,000lb, the G limits are +9/-3G, the turning performance is mach 0.9 and 9G at 15,000 feet, and 4G at 0,9 mach and 30,000 feet.
 
Turkish Aerospace Industries will soon initiate the production activities of the Block 10 TF-X.

Block 10 was actually the first airframe set to fly. However after TAI's calculations it was made clear that it would be possible to fly the aircraft in 2023. And as a result, GTU-0/P0 (originally a ground test prototype) is now being prepped for flight tests.

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