Türkiye braces for maiden flight of first indigenous fifth-generation aircraft PHOTO

The MMU fifth-generation military aircraft is one of the most ambitious technological projects in Türkiye, the implementation of which continues in full swing with the participation of 3,000 specialists.

The first flight of the MMU is scheduled for the current year.

In an interview with Anadolu, MMU chief designer Emre Yaban said that Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii (TUSAŞ) began relevant work on the project in 2006 and today the development is at the final stage.

According to him, earlier, thanks to the project of another domestic aircraft HÜRKUŞ, the developers have accumulated significant experience, in particular, in terms of designing a combat vehicle, stages of work, and infrastructure formation. The development of the GÖKBEY helicopter and the HÜRJET light attack aircraft also became an important experience, Jaban stated.

He noted that HÜRJET just recently made its maiden flight.

“As for the MMU, this is essentially a new stage for both TUSAŞ and the Turkish aircraft industry as a whole. We plan to form a domestic military aviation base in order to fly domestic aircraft with systems developed by Turkish companies. This is the significance of the fifth-generation aircraft project. On the way to mass production, 7 prototypes will be developed. Afterward, system testing, flight, and ground testing will begin. We plan to carry out the first deliveries of the aircraft to the Turkish Air Force by 2028,” Yaban said.

According to him, each new aircraft prototype will be the next stage in the field of aviation: the process will be carried out step by step, and each prototype will differ from the previous one, taking into account the test results.

At the same time, Yaban noted the tight deadlines for working on the project.

“2028 is a very short period, if we focus on foreign analogs. During this period, it is necessary to create many prototypes and conduct tests,” he said.

He also announced that the domestic MMU aircraft will make a surprise on May 1.