Future Turkish fighter TF-X may receive Ukrainian engines

The Ukrainian Ivchenko-Progress company took part in the tender procedure for the development of a jet engine for the Turkish TF-X 5th generation fighter. This was reported by the Turkish Defense News media, which cited its own sources in the local Ministry of Defense. According to the information received by the media, a tender was submitted for the production of a preliminary design of the engine for the TF-X fighter.

In this project, Ivchenko-Progress is going to cooperate with the Turkish company TEI. British Rolls-Royce in cooperation with the Turkish Kale Group competes with the Ivhchenko Progress and the TEI. One of the main conditions for the development of an engine for a promising fighter is that intellectual rights, upon completion of the design, pass into full Turkish ownership.

Engines for TF-X

This is not the first tender to choose an engine for a future jet.

Back in 2014, the Turkish government sent requests for the supply of engines to five firms: European Eurojet, American General Electric and Pratt & Whitney, French Snecma and Russian Rosoboronexport. However, the tender was subsequently scrapped. A new tender for the development of its own jet engine for the TF-X fighter was launched in mid-2017.

As part of the aviation project, a competition was announced in which a consortium of Turkish firms, TRMotor and TAES, a joint venture between Rolls-Royce and the Turkish Kale Group, took part. The situation with the tender was complicated when Rolls-Royce left the joint venture in 2019 due to disagreements on the separation of intellectual property.

Development and testing of TF-X

President of Defence Industry Agency, Ismail Demir, stated the development of a national turbofan engine for the future fighter could last an average of 8 to 10 years. During the development phase, two turbofan engines produced by the U.S. company General Electric will be used as a temporary measure on TF-X fighters.

The first 20 KAAN warplanes scheduled to make their maiden flight in 2023 or 2024 will be equipped with this particular type of engine.

TAI TF-X fighter jet F110 engines, Ankara, March 17, 2023

Ground tests of the first prototype of the Turkish TF-X fighter began in March 2023. The plane's first runway run was on March 16. The prototype of the Turkish national fighter launched its own engines and at one time moved along the runway due to the thrust of the jet engines, so it successfully passed the first test of ground tests.

The date of the first flight is currently unknown, but the flight of the first prototype is expected to take place this year after the successful completion of ground tests.