By Azernews

By News Center

Turkey’s Defence Industry President Ismail Demir has stated that the National Combat Aircraft (MMU) will leave the hangar in 2023, Yeni Shafak newspaper has reported.

Demir answered questions regarding the agenda in a broadcast on TRT Haber, the report added.

“We have trust in this initiative, which is really ambitious. We're on our journey, and we're hoping to make it to our goal. This will be accomplished by the nation's youth and engineers. We aim for our National Combat Aircraft to leave the hangar in 2023,” Demir stressed.

He added that there is a significant worldwide demand for Turkey’s ATAK military helicopters.

“The ATAK-2 will be a helicopter with higher cargo capacity and capabilities. It is presently regarded as one of the world's top helicopters in its class. Our slogan is: If it's man-made, we'll make it better,” the defence industry chief emphasized.

Demir announced that the Anadolu ship will be launched in 2022 and Hurjet (light combat aircraft) designers are working on its landing and take-off of the ship.

The ship will have both a landing capability as well as a powertrain platform capable of transporting naval, ground, and air forces. The deployment of unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs) and unmanned combat aerial vehicles (UCAVs) were not included in the original concept. To close the gap, however, appropriate design improvements are already being implemented, Demir said.

He stressed that Turkey uses domestic weaponry and defensive systems in its military operations. The Turkish Defence Industry is delivering goods to the field that can compete with and even outperform its competitors.

Demir emphasized that the arrival of the Hurjet plane is scheduled for 2023 and a countdown for other domestic helicopters and planes has started.

Speaking about the purchasing of the S-400 missile system from Russia, he stated that the second batch of the delivery, which was planned earlier, is in question.

Demir emphasized that Turkey's purchase of these systems from Russia shows the country’s commitment to its previously declared choice rather than an obstinate move against the United States.

Turkey is subject to sanctions in many sectors within the scope of CAATSA sanctions. Due to the S-400 conflict, Turkey was excluded from the fifth-generation fighter jet F-35 program, of which it was a project partner, produced more than 100 parts and invested millions of dollars.

It should be noted that following the U.S. removal of Turkey from the F-35 program using the S-400 as an excuse, the latter accelerated its national combat aircraft project.

Contact was established with Russia for the development of the national jet, which is the most important project in Turkey’s history.