Tusas Engine Industries, TR Motor and TAEC, with Rolls Royce and Kale Group, interested in taking over this program known as TF-X
The Turkish authorities have opened the tender for the development of the engine that will equip the future fifth-generation TF-X fighter jet. The process is limited to Turkish manufacturers, of which two, Tusas Engine Industries, and TR Motor, have responded to the request for proposals, according to the country’s military procurement entity, known by the acronym SSB.
In addition, the alliance that the British manufacturer Rolls Royce and the local industrial conglomerate Kale Group have created under the name of TAEC, of which the Turkish side controls the largest part, 51%, according to Defense News, is expected to participate in the tender.
The chosen one must guarantee that the manufacture of the engine will take place in Turkey, where the intellectual property rights will also remain, and that he will not be able to restrict export licenses, in addition to achieving a good degree of profitability, according to the head of the SSB, Ismail Demir.
With the aircraft developed in its TF-X program Ankara intends to replace its current fleet of F-16 fighters, manufactured by the US company Lockheed Martin, and which it plans to withdraw from service from the 2030s.