Spanish
Spain will become in 2028 the first country in the European Union and NATO to use jet training aircraft manufactured in Turkey, a sale considered a historic milestone in the Eurasian country, the Turkish semi-state agency Anadolu reported this Tuesday.
The final purchase agreement for up to 30 'Hürjet' aircraft, with a total value of 2.6 billion euros, has been announced by the President of the Turkish Defense Industry Agency, Haluk Görgün. "Turkey's first national jet training aircraft, Hürjet, has achieved a historic export success for the country's defense industry by being officially selected by the Spanish Air and Space Forces," Gorgün highlighted on social media.You can also read: Former Bangladeshi Prime Minister Khaleda Zia dies at 80
"This agreement constitutes a high value-added, multi-dimensional export package for the defense industry, which includes the export of Hürjet, an integrated training architecture that encompasses advanced combat pilot training, simulation systems and ground training, sustainable maintenance infrastructure and long-term operational support elements," he added. The previous agreement had been sealed on July 24th between the public company Turkish Aerospace Industries (Tusas) and Airbus, participated by France, Germany, and Spain, within the framework of the International Defense Industry Fair held in Istanbul. The 'Hürjet' is a supersonic, single-engine, two-seat training aircraft with advanced capabilities. The first six aircraft of that type will arrive in Spain in 2028, as announced at the end of June in the Senate by the Spanish Minister of Defense, Margarita Robles, and the forecast is that another twelve will be delivered a year later. Airbus, Tusas and 15 Spanish companies had already signed the industrial plan for the Hürjet program by mid-May. As Robles said in June, the goal is to develop a Spanish version of the training aircraft, to replace the American F-5M currently used by the Spanish Air Force. In October, Spain authorized the acquisition of a new system for the training of modern fighter pilots, which includes a customized version of the supersonic aircraft. The Secretary of State for Defense, Amparo Valcarce, confirmed in November that the Hürjet training aircraft will be manufactured in Spain with the participation of leading companies such as Airbus and Indra, something that should reinforce both the Airbus facilities in Albacete and the Air Force's fighter pilot school in Talavera la Real (Badajoz). The Turkish Hürjet project began in August 2017 and the aircraft made its first flight in April 2023.
