Turkey completes equipping military aircraft fleet

By Azernews

By Vugar Khalilov

Turkey's Defence Industry Chief Ismail Demir stated that the country has completed equipping its military transport aircraft fleet (A400m), Yeni Shafak has said.

"Our A400M fleet has been fully outfitted. The 10th and final aircraft produced for the Air Force Command under the Turkish Armed Forces' A400M Project, in which we are partners in the design and production for tactical transport missions, has entered service," Demir said on his Twitter account.

The Turkish Defence Industries Directorate (SSB) also issued a statement on the subject, noting that the last aircraft built for the Turkish Air Forces Command's tactical transportation needs as part of the A400M Project was deployed in Kayseri.

"Our aircraft, for which TUSAS (Turkish Aerospace Industries) was the design and manufacturing partner and TEI (TUSAS Engine Industries) was the engine subcontractor, was built in a higher configuration than previous models," according to the directorate.

Some 103 aircraft have been delivered under the contract signed between OCCAR (Organization for Joint Armament Cooperation) and AMSL Company on behalf of the consortium consisting of Germany (53), Belgium-Lux (8), France (50), England (22), Spain (27) and Turkey (10), the state agency said.

The Royal Malaysian Air Force was the first non-consortium user of the aircraft in question, according to the report.

Kazakhstan, the ninth A400M customer, purchased two aircraft under a 2021 agreement, according to the company. In August 2007, the final assembly line for the A400M aircraft began operations. A ceremony in Spain marked the handover of the A400M aircraft from the final manufacturing line to the flying line on June 26, 2008. On December 11, 2009, the A400M took to the air for the first time.

Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TUSAS), in collaboration with the aviation industries of the participating countries (Germany, Belgium, France, England, and Spain), assumes responsibility for the design and production of the aircraft in proportion to the number of aircraft received by each country.

TAI owns a stake in structural components and systems. TAI engineers and technicians design and manufacture the aileron and spoilers, as well as the main structural components of the A400M aircraft (such as the front mid-frame, rear fuselage upper section, parachutist doors, emergency exit gate, rear upper escape cover, and tail cone).

The A400M aircraft is powered by the TP400 engine, a one-of-a-kind turboprop engine designed by the Euro Prop International (EPI) consortium (Rolls-Royce, MTU, Snecma, and ITP), an AMSL subcontractor. TUSAS Engine Industries (TEI) is another EPI subcontractor in engine production.

MSN009, the first aircraft delivered to Turkey under the A400M Transport Aircraft Project, was highlighted as being included in the inventory in 2014. Turkey became the first country in the consortium to complete the 'A400M Fleet,' with its 10th and final aircraft (MSN 118) accepted on March 29, 2022, as a result of test activities conducted at Airbus' Sevilla/Spain facilities.

The 10th aircraft, numbered MSN 118, was the first to be delivered at the new configuration level within the scope of the project, and it had greater capabilities than the other aircraft previously included in the inventory, according to the statement.

"The improvement activities carried out for the final configuration of our A400M aircraft are carried out at the Retrofit Center established in Kayseri, and within this scope, the retrofit activities of two aircraft have been completed successfully so far," the statement continued.

Following the testing activities, the 10th aircraft, which will strengthen the Turkish Air Force and make significant contributions to the country's defence, was deployed to the 12th Air Transport Main Base Command in Kayseri /Erkilet on March 30.