The whole story of independent research and development of Türkiye's five generation machine "Khan"
2024-08-29
The fifth generation stealth fighter developed by Türkiye: "Khan" TF-X fighter. Picture of the first flight of the Khan TF-X fighter jet. Data picture "Khan" TF-X is a home-made five generation aircraft independently developed by Türkiye, which successfully completed its first flight in February this year. Not long ago, the executive director of Türkiye Aerospace Industry Corporation said in an interview with the media that, in addition to the purchase of nearly 100 aircraft by Türkiye's air force, Azerbaijan and Pakistan may also become potential partners, and the "Khan" TF-X fighter is expected to obtain nearly 300 orders. Nowadays, the concept of fifth generation machines has been proposed for over half a century. However, only a few countries in the world still have the ability to develop fifth generation aircraft. The experience of recent decades has proven that the development and operation of fifth generation machines are extremely costly, and are prone to risks of overspending, technical obstacles, and even complete failure. So, what difficulties did Türkiye overcome in the process of developing the fifth generation aircraft, where there are still many weak links in the national defense industry? What is the development prospect of its fifth generation aircraft? Please refer to the interpretation in this issue. The joint research and development plan was frustrated and the path to independent development was pursued. At the end of 2010, the Executive Committee of Türkiye's National Defense Industry announced the launch of the "National Fighter" project. According to the project, Türkiye plans to develop the fifth generation "Khan" TF-X fighter by itself to replace the F-16C/D fighter in service. However, for a long time afterwards, this project seemed like a "mud cow entering the sea" with no news. It was not until August 2016 that this project resurfaced. According to media reports, the Ministry of Defence of Türkiye has signed a contract with Türkiye Aerospace Industry Corporation with a research budget of up to 20 billion US dollars. Considering the situation at that time, it is not difficult to understand Türkiye's move. As a member of NATO, Türkiye and the United States have maintained military and political cooperation for a long time in the past. As early as 2002, Türkiye joined the F-35 fighter program. Eight Türkiye companies have participated in the production of more than 900 parts, including airframe, engine and landing gear. As the third level partner of the F-35 project, Türkiye has great hope to join the "Five Generation Computer Club" with the help of the United States. As Türkiye's acceptance of the first Russian made S-400 anti-aircraft missile system was exposed, the United States immediately unilaterally tore up the agreement, kicked Türkiye out of the F-35 fighter program, and also frozen its right to obtain F-16 fighter from Lockheed Martin. This move not only failed Türkiye's idea of realizing its dream with the help of the United States, but also caused a serious blow to Türkiye's air force construction. After this setback, Türkiye became more determined to develop the five generation aircraft. In 2023, even if the economy at home and abroad is sluggish, Türkiye will still decide to increase defense and security spending and promote the development of the "Khan" TF-X fighter. However, the development of fifth generation aircraft cannot be successful with determination, and strong national defense industrial capabilities are the key. Since the 1980s, Türkiye has been pursuing the road of national defense industry autonomy. Türkiye regards the expansion and development of its national defense industry as a national priority development strategy, and adopts the National Defense Industry Law to provide legal guarantee for the comprehensive development of the national defense industry. According to statistics, the external dependence of Türkiye's military industry has decreased from 80% in 2002 to 20% now, and its aviation and defense companies have increased from 56 in 2002 to 1500 in 2019. Let's further focus on Türkiye's aviation industry. Many aviation manufacturing enterprises in Türkiye used to be an important part of the F-35 industrial chain, and have the ability to manufacture F-35 fighter fuselage structural components, landing gear parts, engine rotating parts, some electronic components, mount weapons and other capabilities. This manufacturing experience has become an important piece of puzzle in Türkiye's aviation manufacturing capacity. In addition, Türkiye is located across the Eurasian continent, borders Russia to the north, guards the strait from the Black Sea to the Mediterranean Sea, and is a member of NATO. Its geographical advantages make it easier to obtain technical support from other countries. According to the local media in Türkiye, Sweden, France and other countries have played an important role in the development of the "Khan" TF-X fighter. The localization rate of the "Khan" TF-X fighter is expected to reach 80%, and some people exaggeratively call it "a fighter made in ten thousand countries". After completing the development of five generations of aircraft across three generations, Türkiye has made frequent appearances on the world military industry stage in recent years, and the "Khan" TF-X fighter has attracted wide attention from all countries in the world. Subsequently, there are doubts from all walks of life - Türkiye has little experience in independently developing and manufacturing combat aircraft. It has only developed and produced trainer aircraft before. Can the aircraft directly developed across three generations meet the standards of five generations? Below, we will explore the four essential performance aspects that fifth generation aircraft must possess: firstly, super maneuverability. When it comes to super maneuverability, the choice of aerodynamic layout cannot be avoided. The Khan TF-X fighter jet has a length of 21 meters, a wingspan of 14 meters, and a height of 6 meters. It adopts a conventional aerodynamic layout with dual engines and dual vertical tails. The Khan TF-X fighter jet is a heavy fighter jet, and its maneuverability may be slightly inferior to the F-22 Raptor fighter jet of the same type. However, Türkiye Aerospace Industry Corporation has found another way to improve operational efficiency and aircraft agility by adopting active control technology and installing advanced fly by wire flight control system, which makes the "Khan" TF-X fighter possess super maneuverability. The second is the supersonic cruise capability. The engine, as the "heart" of a fighter jet, is the key to determining whether the aircraft can have supersonic cruise capability. The "Khan" TF-X fighter jet is equipped with two F110-GE-129 engines, which have strong power and a maximum thrust of 13 tons per engine. According to the official data of Türkiye, the "Khan" TF-X fighter can fly at a maximum speed of Mach 1.8, with supersonic cruise capability. The third is radar stealth capability. Radar stealth capability is the most prominent feature and important indicator of fifth generation aircraft. The KF-21 fighter jet from South Korea can only be called a fourth and a half generation fighter jet due to its flawed stealth capability. To reduce radar reflection signals, the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet adopts a multi plane design to minimize right angle reflections; The engine intake adopts the Galette intake, which changes the angle of the intake wall through double oblique cutting to reduce radar reflection signals; Built in weapons and ammunition to reduce radar reflection area. In addition to its exterior design, the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet also uses a large amount of carbon fiber composite materials and radar absorbing materials, which can effectively reduce the weight of the fuselage and absorb radar waves, thereby reducing radar reflection signals. The fourth is the ability of super perception. The "Khan" TF-X fighter jet is equipped with an advanced electronic warfare system, including active electronically scanned array radar (AESA), electronic countermeasures, electronic reconnaissance equipment, infrared search and tracking system, and electro-optical aiming system. Among them, the AESA radar, with over 1000 transmission/reception units, enables the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet to detect distances exceeding 250 kilometers, track 64 targets simultaneously, and attack 16 of them, making it the core of the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet's electronic warfare system. Compared to traditional mechanical scanning radar, AESA radar has faster scanning speed, higher detection accuracy, and stronger anti-interference ability. It can simultaneously perform multiple tasks such as searching for targets, tracking targets, and electronic interference. In summary, the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet may currently have a certain gap with the world's most advanced fifth generation aircraft, but it can still be called a true fifth generation aircraft. After entering the "Five Generation Fighter Club", development will still face many challenges. On the day of the first flight of the "Khan" TF-X fighter, President Erdogan of Türkiye said in a speech that "Türkiye has crossed another key threshold in the production of the fifth generation fighter." Türkiye has become one of the few countries in the world to enter the "Five Generation Fighter Club", which has inspired the people of Türkiye. "This is the world's most advanced fifth generation stealth fighter" "This is the pride of Türkiye"... Their pride is expressed in words. However, from the current perspective, the future development of the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet still faces many challenges. On the one hand, Türkiye's aviation industry lacks corresponding cutting-edge technology. Türkiye does not have the ability to manufacture high-performance aeroengines and can only rely on other countries' assistance. However, high-performance aircraft engines mostly involve core technologies of a country's technology, industry, and defense, and few countries are willing to give them up. After multiple attempts to seek help were unsuccessful, the prototype of the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet had to be equipped with the same engine as the third-generation F-16- which is also the reason why its maximum flight speed is difficult to exceed 2 Mach. In recent years, the relationship between Türkiye and the United States has deteriorated. If the F110-GE-129 engine produced by American companies cannot be obtained in bulk in the future, the mass production of the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet will be dealt a devastating blow. In addition, due to the insufficient technical accumulation of stealth materials in Türkiye and the fact that the Galate inlet used lags behind the DSI inlet, the stealth performance of the aircraft is insufficient, which may affect the combat effectiveness. On the other hand, the shortage of funds may affect the subsequent development of fifth generation machines. As is well known, the research and development of fifth generation machines requires a huge amount of funding. The total cost of the F-35 fighter jet project exceeds $1.7 trillion, and several Western powers have chosen to "group" the development of fifth generation aircraft to share the high research and development costs. Affected by US sanctions in recent years, Türkiye's financial market continues to be turbulent, the Turkish lira exchange rate has hit new lows, the economic situation is complex and severe, and the fiscal deficit is growing. With the acceleration of the development process of the "Khan" TF-X fighter jet and its upcoming production, the required funds will also increase exponentially. Whether Türkiye can bear this huge sum of money and complete the first delivery of the "Khan" TF-X fighter on schedule in 2028 still needs further observation. (New Society)
Edit：Xiong Dafei Responsible editor：Li Xiang
Source：81.cn
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