Spain is looking for a successor model for its old Northrop SF-5M Freedom Fighter. One candidate: the Turkish Hurjet. Turkey, on the other hand, would like more Airbus A400Ms. The Spanish have ordered too many of these. Is a trade-off on the horizon?
The Turkish aircraft manufacturer Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) is on a promotional tour with its Hurjet. First, the red and white painted prototype of the new supersonic trainer was a guest at the trade fair in Farnborough, and currently the Hurjet and the TAI delegation are in Spain. On the evening of July 28, the first jet model developed and built in Turkey flew into Madrid-Torrejón at the Spanish Air Force base – accompanied by an Airbus A400M from the Turkish Air Force.
Hurjet for Spain?
The Hürjet’s visit to Spain has a clear goal: to make the Turkish aircraft as attractive as possible to the Spanish so that it is in the running on an equal footing at least until the final purchase decision for a new jet trainer is made. The Spanish Air Force is looking for one in order to retire its old SF-5M two-seaters from 2028. In this context, the Iberians are looking at the Leonardo M345, the Boeing T-7A and the KAI T-50 from South Korea in addition to the Hürjet. They had actually wanted to travel to TAI in Turkey in August for the Hürjet, Turkish media reports. The decision that the Turks would come to Torrejón instead was only made at short notice.
A400M for Turkey?
While the PR campaign is underway, talks are gaining momentum and the Hürjet is being evaluated by Spanish pilots, there are already rumors in well-informed circles that a possible deal between Spain and Turkey could also bring a wave of new aircraft for the latter. The Spanish are reportedly offering to procure 24 Hürjets for the Turks – and in return they will hand over six A400Ms that are not needed by their own air force and are still to be built to the Turkish air force. Since Turkey is, for its part, openly considering increasing its A400M fleet of ten aircraft in the near future, such a trade could actually be beneficial for both sides in the end.
The competition
So the idea doesn’t seem bad. Before it can happen, however, a few things still need to be done. Spain is still relatively early in its search for a successor to the SF-5, and with the M-346 and the Korean T-50, there are at least two aircraft competing that are more technically advanced than the Hurjet and are already being built in series. The M-346 in particular is considered the model of choice for pilot training by some NATO air forces. However, the Leonardo jet is not supersonic, which from the Spanish perspective would be a step backwards compared to the SF-5M.
Hürjet on the rise
Meanwhile, TAI is consistently pushing ahead with testing the Hürjet at its headquarters near Ankara – and says it is also in concrete sales talks with Azerbaijan and Canada. The only buyer so far is the Turkish Air Force, which wants to replace its T-38 Talon fleet with the new model. The first pre-series models are scheduled to be delivered between 2025 and 2028. The Turkish Stars aerobatic team will also fly the Hürjet in the future.
The Hurjet would be a much more modern aircraft than the M-346 and the T-50 – and yet it might be available sooner than the T-7A from the USA, with which Boeing is still struggling. The T-7A is unlikely to be operational before 2027. It could be several years before it is exported.
Source: Patrick Zwerger, https://www.flugrevue.de/militaer/moeglicher-deal-mit-spanien-tauscht-die-tuerkei-24-huerjet-trainer-gegen-sechs-a400m/
