Turkey may develop fighter aircraft with S Korea, Indonesia

**~~denizkuvetleri~~** · 13 Dec 10,, 07:58

Turkey may develop fighter aircraft with S Korea, Indonesia
ÜMİT ENGİNSOY
ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News
Sunday, December 12, 2010

Keen to bolster the capabilities of its Air Force, Turkey is interested in developing a new fighter aircraft with South Korea and Indonesia, senior Turkish and South Korean officials have said.

"There have been some preliminary talks about our possible participation in the KF-X program," a senior Turkish procurement official told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review over the weekend. "We are investigating the feasibility and possibilities of this program."

Maj. Gen. Choi Cha-kyu, director general of South Korea's aircraft program bureau at the Defense Acquisition Program Administration, said in September that Ankara was seriously considering taking part in the KF-X program.

"There will be a requirement [in Turkey] to replace the older fighters with newer ones by 2020," the daily Korea Times quoted Choi as saying at the time. "Once on board, Turkey is expected to bear the same amount of development costs as Indonesia."

The KF-X is a mainly South Korean program to develop an advanced multi-role fighter for the Air Forces of South Korea and Indonesia. It originally was launched in 2001, but then postponed because of financial and technological difficulties. The program will start again next year with the consent of budget authorities.

South Korea will provide 60 percent of the KF-X development costs worth some $4.2 billion, with the rest to come from other governments or corporate partners. About 120 KF-Xs would be built initially and more than 130 aircraft would be produced additionally after the first-phase models reach operational capability.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed in mid-July, Indonesia agreed to pay 20 percent of the bill and to buy about 50 KF-X planes when mass production begins.

South Korea also is seeking to receive technology transfers from Western aerospace firms. One possible corporate partner is Sweden’s Saab.

Other options

Turkey already has selected the U.S.-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II as its next-generation fighter aircraft type. It plans to buy about 100 F-35 aircraft worth nearly $15 billion. Many Turkish companies are members of the nine-nation Joint Strike Fighter consortium of nine Western nations, and are producing parts for the aircraft.

Lockheed Martin, the U.S. company leading the Joint Strike Fighter program, wants Turkey to increase the number of F-35 planes it plans to buy to 120 from 100. Turkey also will receive 30 F-16 Block 50 fighters from Lockheed as a stop-gap solution until F-35 deliveries begin around 2015.

But Turkish officials have said they are open to participating in one more future international fighter aircraft program.

Turkey also is facing pressure from Italy, a close defense partner, to buy the Eurofighter Typhoon, made by a European consortium including companies from Italy, Britain, Germany and Spain.

Giovanni Bertolone, executive vice president for operations at Finmeccanica, a top Italian industrial conglomerate, in early December called on Turkey to jointly produce the next phase of the Eurofighter. Finmeccanica is the parent company of Alenia Aeronautica, one of the makers of the Eurofighter.

Bertolone said the F-35 and the Eurofighter had different functions, and that Turkey could accommodate both fighters. The Eurofighter has been designed mainly as an air-to-air fighter while the F-35 is more suitable for air-to-ground missions.

In the event Turkey decides to buy the Eurofighter, these aircraft would replace the older U.S.-made F-4E Phantoms, recently modernized by Israel.

"We're encouraging Turkey to follow the examples of Britain and Italy, which will have both aircraft," Bertolone said. "Air-to-air fight capability is important, and we think this situation will gain prominence."

Many analysts believe that the planned South Korean-led KF-X also would be suitable for air-to-air fighting.

© 2009 Hurriyet Daily News
URL: Turkey may develop fighter aircraft with S Korea, Indonesia - Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review

240 F-16 CCIP
40 F-4 Simsek and 2020
120 F-35
40 Eurofighter Typhoon 2020
And they want more....It looks like Turkey will be in a similar economic situation as Greece soon....How many combat platforms does the TuAF need?

**McFire** · 13 Dec 10,, 09:03

Is the Ottoman empire resurrecting? Why so much stuff?

S2 · 13 Dec 10,, 11:55

Difficult region, uncertain times and a fickle relationship with its key western ally. That fickleness cuts both ways of late.

**Big K** · 13 Dec 10,, 12:05

denizkuvvetleri,

i believe in this sector. i mean Turkey should/must develop & build its own crafts like tanks(Altay)&ships(Milgem?)&aircrafts too. this would be a huge leap forward both economically & geopolitically.

McFire,

ironically interesting question...can i ask the same to you?

**Big K** · 13 Dec 10,, 12:07

a strong Turkey would be the best partner for US too...you can see the benefits...

**~~denizkuvetleri~~** · 13 Dec 10,, 13:26

Big K,

Don't get me wrong...I also support plans to significantly expand the combat fleets however, the way the TuAF is going about I think is too costly and ill planned. It should invest in one or two platforms at most not four. Logistics and maintenance wise we could have major problems.

We are acquiring alot of new platforms from naval vessels (T-214 subs, MILGEM, TF-2000, F-100, LPD, LHD) to tanks (Altay Tank), satelites (Gokturk-1 and 2) to balistic missiles (Project J), from F-35's to indegenous fighters in such a short time span. To be honest I don't think our economy can sustain it any longer. We should have a hard look at Greece and their experience.

**TTL** · 13 Dec 10,, 15:32

But remember the F-4s and f-16s are nearing end of their lifespan. F-35s are not yet ready and this joint venture will take at least a decade before it produces a prototype. (Thats if it doesn't get cancelled).

**Big K** · 13 Dec 10,, 19:12

plus dont forget the political pressures (typhoons) & reverse engineering possibilities

**tankie** · 13 Dec 10,, 21:37

Originally Posted by Big K

plus dont forget the political pressures (typhoons) & reverse engineering possibilities

You sound like Bob Lazar Kerem , thats the guy who allegedly worked in area 51 back engineering er, aircraft , but yea , buy/ borrow / steal , and get the Thai people to repro it

**Chogy** · 13 Dec 10,, 22:44

Originally Posted by TTL

But remember the F-4s and f-16s are nearing end of their lifespan. F-35s are not yet ready and this joint venture will take at least a decade before it produces a prototype. (Thats if it doesn't get cancelled).

Are you referring to current Turkish F-16's, or the aircraft model in general? If the latter, I'd suggest the F-16 in its latest incarnations has decades of effective life left.

If the former, yes, airframes age and see hard use in any good training program.

**~~denizkuvetleri~~** · 13 Dec 10,, 23:01

http://yfrog.com/75tuafinventoryj

As you can see the Peace Onyx III and IV F-16's are fairly new deliveries. Hence, they will be in the inventory for a long time. With structural upgrades and other upgrade programs their life can also be extended in the inventory. So, I still don't think that the F-35, Eurofighter Typhoon and KF-X will replace the total F-16 fleet at this time.

**~~denizkuvetleri~~** · 14 Dec 10,, 23:12

Originally Posted by Chogy

Are you referring to current Turkish F-16's, or the aircraft model in general? If the latter, I'd suggest the F-16 in its latest incarnations has decades of effective life left.

If the former, yes, airframes age and see hard use in any good training program.

The Turkish F-16's have undergone the Common Configuration Implementation Program (CCIP). The program involves the installation of a new avionics suite and encompasses numerous components, including a new mission computer, color displays, an enhanced horizontal situation indicator, and an air-to-air interrogator for Block 50/52 aircraft allowing beyond line-of-site use of the AIM-120 Advanced Medium-Range Air- to-Air Missile.

Other key CCIP elements include a Link-16 capability with the Multifunctional Information Distribution System to increase pilot situational awareness and communication among coalition partner aircraft; the Joint Helmet Mounted Cueing System enabling first-look, first-shot capability and high over-the-shoulder engagement with the AIM-9X missile; and dual carriage capability of the High-Speed Anti-Radar Missile Targeting System and Advanced Targeting Pod.

Just like Turkey did with it's F-4E fleet (the F-4 Terminator 2020 upgrade): Turkish CCIP upgraded vipers are very capable aircraft and they would remain in active service for more years to come.

**Big K** · 17 Dec 10,, 12:45

Originally Posted by tankie

You sound like Bob Lazar Kerem , thats the guy who allegedly worked in area 51 back engineering er, aircraft , but yea , buy/ borrow / steal , and get the Thai people to repro it

sht! i knew someone thought about this BEFORE lol