Turkish Aerospace Industries

Turkish aerospace and defense company

Turkish Aerospace Inc.

Native name

| Türk Havacılık Ve Uzay Sanayi Anonim Şirketi (TUSAŞ)
Company type| Incorporated company
Industry| Aerospace and arms industry
Predecessor| Turkish Aircraft Industries Corporation
TUSAS Aerospace Industries, Inc.
Founded| 16 August 1925 (1925-08-16)[a]
28 June 1973[b]
Headquarters| Kahramankazan,

Ankara

Turkey[1]

Area served

| Worldwide

Key people

| Ömer Cihad Vardan[2] (chairman)
Mehmet Demiroğlu[3] (president & CEO)
Products| Aircraft, helicopters, satellites, unmanned aerial vehicles
Revenue| ₺63.575 billion[4] (2023)
Owner| Turkish Armed Forces Foundation (54.49%)
Defence Industry Agency (45.45%)
Turkish Aeronautical Association (0.06%)

Number of employees

| 17,000 (7000 engineers 6000 technicians)[5] (January 2024)
Divisions| Aerostructures Group
Aircraft Group
Helicopter Group
UAS Group
Space Systems Group
Website| www.tusas.com

Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (Turkish: Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş., abbr. TAI or TUSAŞ) is a state-owned[6] arms company in Turkey.

## History

[edit]

Turkish Aircraft and Engine Limited Company (Tayyare ve Motor Türk Anonim Şirketi, TOMTAŞ) in the early 20th century

On 16 August 1925 the Turkish Aircraft and Engine Limited Company (Turkish: Tayyare ve Motor Türk Anonim Şirketi, TOMTAŞ) factory was founded in Kayseri, Turkey.[7] The company received its current name in 1973 and was incorporated into the Ministry of Industry and Technology of Turkey to reduce the "foreign dependence" of the country's defense industry.[8][9]

Their first project was to make the new F-16 from the US ready for the Turkish Air Force. In 1984 the US companies Lockheed Martin and General Electric joined in, with TAI producing its first F-16 in 1987.[10] TAI produced 240 F-16 aircraft for Turkey and assembled 46 F-16s for the Egyptian Air Force in the 1980s and 1990s.[11] Because of disagreements, TUSAŞ was not very active in the time span from 1984 to 2005.[citation needed]

In 2005 Turkish private persons and Turkish companies bought the shares of Lockheed Martin and General Electric. The new owner agreed to put the company back under control of the Turkish state.

On 23 October 2024 an attack was launched on the company's offices in Kahramankazan, Ankara Province, leaving five people dead and 22 others injured.[12] The two perpetrators of the attacks were also killed. Later, the PKK admitted to committing the assault.[13]

## Projects

[edit]

Model of reconnaissance and military satellite Göktürk-2 during the IDEF 2015

TAI's experience includes the licensed production of General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, CASA/IPTN CN-235 light transport/maritime patrol/surveillance aircraft, SIAI-Marchetti SF.260 trainers, Cougar AS-532 search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR) and utility helicopters as well as the design and development of Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), target drones and agricultural aircraft.

TAI's core business also includes modernization, modification and systems integration programs and after sales support of both fixed and rotary wing military and commercial aircraft that are in the inventory of Turkey and its allies.

TAI's Hürkuş basic trainer aircraft has been granted air worthiness type certification, the company announced at the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow.

## Major programs

[edit]

TAI Kaan TAI Anka during the IDEF 2015 T129 ATAK helicopter of the Turkish Army during the IDEF 2015 TAI Aksungur at Teknofest 2019 President Abdullah Gül and Ilham Aliyev at Turkish Aerospace Industries, 2013

* Electronic warfare retrofit and structural modifications on Turkish Air Force (TuAF) F-16s.[14]
* MLU, Falcon-Up and Falcon Star Modifications on the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) F-16s,[15]
* Modifications of 41 F-16A/B Block 15 aircraft of the Pakistan Air Force to F-16AM/BM Block 15 MLU standard.[citation needed]
* Modification of the S-2E Tracker Maritime Patrol Aircraft into Fire Fighting Aircraft
* CN-235 and Black Hawk modifications for the Turkish Special Forces
* Modification of CN-235 platforms for MPA/MSA missions for the Turkish Navy and Coast Guard
* Modification and modernization of Eurocopter AS 532,[16]
* Glass Cockpit Retrofit of S-70 helicopters,[17]
* Conversion of B737-700 aircraft AEW&C aircraft,[18]
* Avionics modernization of C-130 aircraft for the Turkish Air Force (TuAF),[19]
* Production and Maintenance, Repair and Overhaul (MRO) of the center fuselage of Joint Strike Fighter F-35 aircraft,[20][21]
* Participating in the design and development of the A400M military transport and tanker aircraft,[22]
* Avionics modernization of T-38 aircraft for the TuAF,[23]
* License production of the attack helicopter Agusta A129 Mangusta as T-129 for the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF).[24]
* Design, development and production of TAI Hürkuş (Turkish Primary and Basic Training Aircraft) with EASA CS-23 certification.[25]
* Design, development and production of Anka unmanned aerial vehicle for the TuAF.[26]

Turkish Aerospace/TUSAS produced 46 F-16s for the Egyptian Air Force between 1993 and 1995 under the agreement signed between the Governments of Turkey and the Arab Republic of Egypt.[27][28][29][30] A contract to produce 46 Block 40 F-16C/D's for the Egyptian Air Force was placed with TUSAS Aerospace Industries (TAI) of Turkey. 34 of them will be F-16C's, 12 will be F-16D's. This was carried out under the auspices of the Peace Vector IV program, and marked the first sale of a foreign-built Fighting Falcon to a third-party nation in the history of the F-16 program.[31]

TAI is engaged in manufacturing aerostructures for fixed and rotary wing, military and commercial aircraft for worldwide customers. TAI is in various partnership arrangements with AgustaWestland, Airbus, Alenia Aermacchi, Boeing, IAI, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, MD Helicopters, Sikorsky, Indonesian Aerospace and numerous other companies in aerospace sector.

TAI manufactures Section 18 fuselage panels for Airbus 319/320/321 aircraft, wing tips and flight deck panels for Boeing 737 aircraft,[32] rear doors and engine cowlings for Eurocopter EC135 helicopters, MD 902 fuselage for MD Helicopters, horizontal stabilizers, tail rotor pylons and tail booms for Sikorsky S-70A and MH-60 helicopters, horizontal stabilizers for Sikorsky S-76 helicopters and AB139 fuselages for Agusta.[33] Furthermore, TAI manufactures nose landing gear doors for the Boeing 747, dorsal fin for 777 and parts/subassembly parts for 737/767/777. It also manufactures seven components of the Eurocopter AS 532 helicopter.

TAI, which had a single program (the co-production of the F-16 Fighting Falcon) at its establishment phase, is working on over 50 military and commercial programs today. As a partner of the Airbus Defence and Space, TAI has been participating in the design and development activities of the Airbus A400M program with the leading European aerospace companies; namely Airbus (France, Germany, Spain and UK), EADS CASA (Spain) and FLABEL (Belgium) from the beginning of the project. TAI has accepted the production of A350XWB's winglets with the new cooperation.

In May 2015 the Turkish regional jet project was launched, which consisted of the indigenous production of two regional aircraft in different sizes. The 32-seat TRJ-328 jet with a range up to 2,000 nmi (2,300 mi; 3,700 km) was planned to enter service in 2019. It was a Fairchild Dornier 328JET-based, modernized aircraft with new cockpit and engines. The larger, 70-seat TRJ-628 jet would be ready in 2023.[34][35] The project has since been cancelled.

In June 2024 news media reported that TAI was responsible for introducing questionable titanium into the supply chain for aircraft parts which ultimately were used to manufacture some Boeing and Airbus passenger planes built between 2019 and 2023.[36] The titanium sold by TAI included falsified authenticity documentation that originated from a metals supplier in China, calling into question whether the titanium was truly aviation-grade. However, Spirit's testing has confirmed that the titanium is the appropriate grade for airplane manufacturers.

## Products

[edit]

### Aircraft

[edit]

* TAI Kaan, stealth twin-engine all-weather fifth generation air superiority fighter
* TAI Hürjet, advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft
* TAI Hürkuş, two-seat, single engine, turboprop aircraft for training and ground attack[37]
* TAI General Aviation Aircraft, for airline pilot training[38]

### Helicopters

[edit]

* TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK, light attack helicopter
* TAI T-70, Turkish variants of Sikorsky S-70i
* TAI T625, light utility helicopter
* TAI T629, medium attack helicopter
* TAI T925, heavy utility helicopter
* TAI T929 ATAK 2, heavy attack helicopter

### Unmanned aerial vehicles

[edit]

* TAI Aksungur MALE ISTAR
* TAI Anka-A (TIHA-A) (2013), MALE ISTAR UAV
* TAI Anka-B (TIHA-B) (2013), MALE UAV
* TAI Anka-S, MALE UCAV
* TAI Anka-3, flying wing design stealth UCAV
* TAI Anka-4, stealth UCAV
* TAI Baykuş (2004), tactical surveillance drone
* TAI Gözcü (2007), short-range tactical ISTAR drone
* TAI Keklik (2001), target drone for tracking and non-firing exercise
* TAI Martı (2003), surveillance drone
* TAI Pelikan (IHA-X2), tactical ISTAR drone
* TAI Şimşek, high-speed target drone
* TAI Turna (2001), target drone for tracking and live firing
* TAI UAV-X1 (1982), surveillance drone[citation needed]

### Satellites

[edit]

* Göktürk-1, Earth observation satellite
* Göktürk-2 (launched 2012), Earth observation satellite
* Göktürk-3 satellite
* Türksat 6A, communications satellite

TAI operates Turkish Satellite Assembly, Integration and Test Center.

## See also

[edit]

* Turkey portal
* Aviation portal

* TEI

## References

[edit]

1. ^ "Turkish Aerospace: Facilities".
2. ^ "Ömer Cihad VARDAN". Turkish Aerospace Industries. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
3. ^ "Mehmet DEMİROĞLU, Ph.D." Turkish Aerospace Industries. Retrieved 10 August 2024.
4. ^ "TUSAŞ – Türk Havacılık ve Uzay A.Ş." Fortune Turkey. 2024. Retrieved 27 October 2024.
5. ^ "Milli savaş uçağı KAAN son düzlükte" [National fighter jet KAAN is in the final stage] (in Turkish). Anadolu Agency. 9 January 2024. Retrieved 3 April 2025.
6. ^ "About Us". Retrieved 23 October 2024.
7. ^ "The First P-24A Aircraft Produced at Kayseri Aircraft Factory is Exhibited on the Square". raillynews.com. Retrieved 24 May 2023.
8. ^ "Hakkımızda" [About Us]. TUSAŞ (in Turkish). Retrieved 25 October 2024.
9. ^ "Three killed, 14 injured in terror attack on Turkish aerospace company". CNN. 23 October 2024. Retrieved 23 October 2024.
10. ^ "F-16 Türkiye". Lockheed Martin. Retrieved 25 October 2024.
11. ^ "Lockheed Martin Sells Its Share of Turkish Joint Venture to Turkish Aircraft Industries, Inc. (TUSAS)". Media – Lockheed Martin. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
12. ^ "At least five killed in attack on aerospace firm near Turkey's Ankara". Al Jazeera. 24 October 2024. Retrieved 24 October 2024.
13. ^ "Turkey: Kurdish militant group behind attack on aerospace firm". BBC. Retrieved 26 October 2024.
14. ^ "Turk Hava Kuvvetleri Turkish Air Force – TUAF". f-16.net. Archived from the original on 2 December 2017. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
15. ^ "TAI DELIVERS RJAF'S FIRST F-16 A/C MODERNIZED AT ITS FACILITIES". tai.com.tr. 17 October 2007. Archived from the original on 3 October 2009. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
16. ^ "Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI) from Turkey and EUROCOPTER Extend their Cooperation in the Super Puma / Cougar Helicopter Family". eurocopter.com. 7 September 2004. Archived from the original on 8 January 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
17. ^ "Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Delivers First S-70i BLACK HAWK Helicopter Tailcone". sikorsky.com. 28 April 2009. Archived from the original on 5 November 2013. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
18. ^ "737 AEW&C Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft, USA". airforce-technology.com. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
19. ^ "The first C-130 aircraft, the avionics modernization of which will be realized by TAI, arrived at TAI's facilities". tai.com.tr. 27 December 2007. Archived from the original on 4 June 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
20. ^ "TAI delivers first composite parts for F-35". reinforcedplastics.com. 5 March 2009. Archived from the original on 24 October 2010. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
21. ^ Andrea Shalat (11 December 2014). "Italy, Turkey to service F-35 jet, engine in Europe: Pentagon". Reuters.com. Retrieved 24 January 2017.
22. ^ "Getting Ready for Takeoff". defensenews.com. 18 January 2010. Archived from the original on 31 July 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
23. ^ "Modernization & Modification Program – T-38 AVIONICS MODERNIZATION". defenceproducts.ssm.gov.tr. 1 September 2009. Archived from the original on 14 August 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
24. ^ "T-129 fighter chopper aces maiden test flight". todayszaman.com. 29 September 2009. Archived from the original on 5 October 2012. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
25. ^ "TAI'S TURKISH PRIMARY AND BASIC TRAINER AIRCRAFT (HURKUS) TO BE DISPLAYED AT 47TH PARIS AIR SHOW". tai.com.tr. 6 June 2007. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
26. ^ "TAI Unveils ANKA Unmanned Airplane". trDefence. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
27. ^ "EGYPT F-16 Program | Turkish Aerospace". www.tusas.com. Retrieved 12 September 2020.
28. ^ "Arabian Aerospace – Phantom wing finally re-equipped with F-16s". www.arabianaerospace.aero. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
29. ^ "Turkey – F-16 Peace Onyx". www.globalsecurity.org. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
30. ^ "F-16 Air Forces – Egypt". www.f-16.net. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
31. ^ "Lockheed Martin Sells Its Share of Turkish Joint Venture to Turkish Aircraft Industries, Inc. (TUSAS)". Media – Lockheed Martin. Retrieved 23 September 2020.
32. ^ "TAI's support to local sub-tier industry development". tai.com.tr. 18 February 2005. Archived from the original on 22 July 2011. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
33. ^ "TAI in deal to supply fuselage sections for AgustaWestland AB139". flightglobal.com. 27 April 2004. Retrieved 4 June 2010.
34. ^ "Turkish Regional Jets Launched – TRJ-328 & 628". Airliners. 27 May 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
35. ^ "İşte yerli yolcu uçağının teknik özellikleri". Sabah (in Turkish). 27 May 2015. Retrieved 31 May 2015.
36. ^ Walker, Mark (14 June 2024). "F.A.A. Investigating How Questionable Titanium Got Into Boeing and Airbus Jets". The New York Times. Washington. Retrieved 15 June 2024.
37. ^ "Turkey to open contract negotiations with TAI for the serial production of the Hürkus Trainer Aircraft". 4 January 2014.
38. ^ "TÜRK HAVAYOLLARI İLE TUSAŞ ARASINDA 20 UÇAKLIK ANLAŞMA SAĞLANDI". www.defenceturkey.com. Retrieved 24 May 2023.

## Notes

[edit]

1. ^ as the Turkish Aircraft and Engine Limited Company
2. ^ current form

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Turkish Aerospace Industries.

* Official website

* v
* t
* e

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) aircraft

Fighters|

* TAI TF Kaan

Fixed-wing aircraft|

* Hürkuş
* Hürjet

Helicopters|

* T70
* T129 ATAK
* T625 Gökbey
* T629
* T929 ATAK 2
* T925

UAVs|

| Prototypes|

* TAI Anka-3
* Baykuş
* Martı
* Öncü
* R-300 Sivrisinek
* X-1 Şahit
* X-2 Pelikan

|

In-use|

* Keklik
* Turna
* Gözcü
* Şimşek
* Anka
* Aksungur

Satellites|

* Göktürk-1
* Göktürk-2
* Göktürk-3
* Full Electrical HTS
* Türksat 6A

* v
* t
* e

Space program of Turkey

Satellites|

| Student|

* ITUpSAT1
* TurkSat-3USat
* UBAKUSAT

|

Communication|

* Türksat
* 1A
* 1B
* 1C
* 2A
* 3A
* 4A
* 4B
* 5A
* 5B
* 6A
* Connecta
* T1.1
* T1.2
* T2.1
* T3.1
* T3.2

Earth observation|

* BILSAT-1
* RASAT
* İMECE

Reconnaissance|

* Göktürk
* 1
* 2

In development|

* Göktürk
* 3

In research|

* BKZS (Regional Positioning and Timing System)

Launch centers|

* UFS (Space Launch System)

Institutions|

* TÜBİTAK UZAY
* TUSAŞ
* USET
* Türksat
* TUA
* Roketsan Research Center
* DeltaV
* Plan-S
* Fergani Space

* See also: Türksat (company) and Turksat (satellite)

Authority control databases |

* ISNI

|

*[abbr.]: abbreviated
*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template