Spain signed yesterday an agreement with Turkey to acquire the new Turkish fighter jet Hürjet, the first light combat fighter designed and manufactured in the Eurasian country, which will replace the F-5 fleet as a training fighter for new pilots.
According to the Turkish news agency Anatolia, a memorandum of understanding signed between the two countries in Madrid includes plans to jointly produce the infrastructure for the aircraft, manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), in Spain.
The deputy ministers of Defence of Turkey, Musa Heybet and Suay Alpay, the Turkish ambassador in Madrid, Nuket Küçükel Ezberci, TAI CEO Mehmet Demiroğlu, Spain’s Director General of Industrial Strategy and Defence Innovation, and Air and Space Force Lieutenant General Miguel Ivorra, among other representatives, attended the signing ceremony in the Spanish capital, the agency reported.
‘Without Turkey, Europe’s security is at risk and under threat. Everyone knows this very well,’ Alpay said, quoted by Anatolia, underlining Turkey’s strategic importance and potential in this area. “Today, Türkiye has once again demonstrated its strength in defense aviation to the entire world,” he added.
‘This is truly a special and valuable day for Turkey, Spain, and Europe. Evaluating global developments, everyone has already seen that Europe cannot proceed without Türkiye. Today’s agreement is a concrete sign of that. It should be seen as a signal flare,’ Altay concluded.
The TAI Hürjet is a light fighter jet and advanced training aircraft, single-engine and capable of reaching supersonic speeds, which made its maiden flight in April 2023. The agreement signed yesterday between TAI, Airbus and the Spanish Ministry of Defence provides for Spain to receive a total of 24 units of this combat aircraft.
Main characteristics of the Hürjet fighter
- Crew: two people
- Length: 13.6 m
- Wingspan: 9.5 m
- Height: 5.1 m
- Wing area: 25 m²
- Payload: 2,721 kg
- Powerplant: 1× F404-GE-102 turbofan with afterburner
- Thrust: 78 kN (17,700 lbf)
- Maximum operating speed: 1.4 Mach
- Range: 2,222 km
- Service ceiling: 13,716 m (45,000 feet)
- Climb rate: 200 m/s
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As a history lover, Pablo Gómez was captivated by Turkey from the first day he visited it in 2006: he got married there, has a house there… and has since become an expert on Turkey’s current affairs. With a long experience in media, he has been at the helm of hispanatolia.com since 2011.
