General Manager of Turkish Aerospace Inc. (TAI) Temel Kotil stated that they plan to fly the National Combat Aircraft KAAN with a Turkish engine in 2028 and said, “We’re working on it.”
The International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF’23), which is one of the world’s largest defense industry meetings and has become an important promotion, marketing and cooperation platform in this field, continues. The fair, which is held under the auspices of the Presidency, hosted by the Ministry of National Defense, under the management and responsibility of the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (TAFF) and organized by Tüyap Tüm Fuarcılık Yapım Inc. is held at the Tüyap Fair and Congress Center.
TAI General Manager Temel Kotil, who met with members of the press within the scope of the fair, answered the questions of the journalists.
In response to the question of when TAI will open the GÖKBEY helicopter for civilian sale, Kotil said that they are working on this issue and that they will need 1-2 years for certification. Noting that they have earned $500 million from the sale of aircraft parts to Airbus and Boeing, he also said that they expect this figure to rise to $1 billion in a short time and that they are targeting $2 billion for the future.
“If the engine does not arrive to HÜRJET, we will build it”
Upon a journalist’s comment that the engine of HÜRJET was purchased from the USA and that these engines may not come in case of a negativity between the countries TAI General Manager Kotil said, “If we cannot get it, we will build it, but this will throw us back 2-3 years. That’s it. Our orders are voluminous. If there is a problem, we’ll see ahead. Türkiye is taking very serious steps in the field of engines. But the engine doesn’t happen as quickly as the plane. Because especially the hot area needs to be studied very well.”
On a question about the number of engineers employed by the company, Kotil said that there is no shortage of employees, that they have exceeded 6,000 in the number of engineers, and that the number of staff reached 15,000. When asked about the engine to be used in the national combat aircraft KAAN, Kotil said, “Our plan is to fly the KAAN with a Turkish engine in 2028. We are working on it. Of course, we need 1-2 years again for certification. However, there will be a Turkish engine in the 2030s. We are currently flying with the F110 engine.”