13 décembre 2019 | International, Aérospatial

Turkey to Rolls-Royce: Let’s renegotiate terms for TF-X fighter jet support

By: Burak Ege Bekdil

ANKARA, Turkey — The Turkish government is keen to revive talks with Rolls-Royce for the design and production of its first indigenous fighter jet, the TF-X, a top cabinet minister has said.

Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu said the government wants to move forward with its planned cooperation with Britain for the production of the new-generation aircraft. But Turkey must first select an engine for the TF-X and then finalize the aircraft's full design — a process that has has lagged behind schedule.

Its aerospace and procurement officials now aim to fly the TF-X in the 2025-2026 time frame, despite an original target of 2023.

A £100 million (U.S. $132 million) deal between Rolls-Royce and Turkish manufacturer Kale Group was effectively put on hold amid uncertainties over technology transfer.

In October 2016, Rolls-Royce offered a joint production partnership to Turkey to power Turkey's planned platforms. The offer also involved potential sales to third parties. The British company's proposal also included a production unit in Turkey to manufacture engines for the TF-X, as well as for helicopters, tanks and missiles.

A year before that, in October 2015, a memorandum of understanding was signed between Turkey and Rolls-Royce for technological know-how and a production unit. Under the plan, Rolls-Royce would launch an advanced manufacturing and technology center in Turkey ― the company's eighth such unit worldwide.

Also in 2017, BAE Systems and Turkish Aerospace Industries, the prime contractor of TF-X, signed a $125 million heads of agreement to collaborate on the first development phase of the planned fifth-generation fighter jet.

After its membership in the U.S.-led, multinational Joint Strike Fighter program was suspended, Turkey started to look for alternatives for an off-the-shelf bridge gap solution until its own fighter jet can be built. Talks with Russia are underway for a potential Su-35 or Su-57 deal, according to officials in Ankara and Moscow.

https://www.defensenews.com/industry/2019/12/12/turkey-to-rolls-royce-lets-renegotiate-terms-for-tf-x-fighter-jet-support

Sur le même sujet

  • MBDA sélectionné dans un programme de lutte anti-drones de l’Union européenne

    6 mai 2022 | International, Aérospatial

    MBDA sélectionné dans un programme de lutte anti-drones de l’Union européenne

    MBDA France a été sélectionné au sein d'un consortium de 42 sociétés par l'Union européenne pour développer une nouvelle architecture de lutte anti-drones. 14 pays européens, dont la France, sont regroupés sur ce programme de développement qui pourrait déboucher sur un programme financé par le fonds européen de défense. MBDA sera en charge, notamment, du développement d'un nouvel effecteur, et de la démonstration qui aura lieu sous deux ans, la durée maximale du programme de 13,5 M€. Plusieurs entités françaises ont également été retenues tels que CILAS, spécialiste français du laser, l'Onera, Thales et CS Group. La France avait lancé ses dernières années plusieurs programmes de lutte anti-drones, dont le MILAD (moyen interarmées de lutte anti-drone), qui n'avait pas eu les résultats attendus par les armées. L'armée de l'Air et de l'Espace avait eu plus de succès avec Hologarde, en développant une approche plus opérationnelle, qui assure un meilleur taux de détection. Air & Cosmos du 3 mai

  • Pentagon releases request for proposals on Next Generation Interceptor

    27 avril 2020 | International, Aérospatial

    Pentagon releases request for proposals on Next Generation Interceptor

    By: Aaron Mehta WASHINGTON — The fight to build America's next missile interceptor has officially begun. The Missile Defense Agency on Friday released its request for proposal for its Next-Generation Interceptor (NGI). The RFP aims to downselect to two companies who will then compete for the right to build the interceptor, which will form the core of America's homeland missile defense going forward. Proposals are due July 31, but the MDA notes that there may be some give in that schedule due to the ongoing COVID-19 coronavirus pandemic. The agency requested $664.1 million in fiscal year 2021 for the NGI program, as part of a $4.9 billion five-year budget plan. Mark Wright, a spokesman for MDA, called the RFP “a vital step forward in designing, developing, and fielding the finest capabilities of both the DoD and American industry for the extraordinarily important purpose of defending the American homeland.” “Notably, the intention of awarding two contracts for simultaneous development of the NGI effort promotes a healthy competition between the two contractor teams to produce the best NGI possible in the shortest time feasible,” Wright added. In August, the Pentagon made the surprise decision to cancel the Redesigned Kill Vehicle program, with DoD research and engineering head Mike Griffin saying he didn't want to keep throwing money at a program with fundamental technical issues. RKV would have upgraded the U.S. homeland defense system's interceptors designed to go after ballistic missile defense threats. The Pentagon decided that no more ground-based interceptors for the Ground-based Midcourse Defense System (GMD) would be built and all future interceptors that are fielded as part of the GMD system will be the new interceptor – that is, the NGI program. Critics of the decision to cancel RKV and start over with a new design have raised concerns over the timeline, which could extend past 2030. But speaking in March, MDA head Vice Adm. Jon Hill said that waiting that long for the new capability is “unacceptable from a war fighter view” and “unacceptable to me as a program manager.” Hill said once bids are on the table, the agency will be able to take a harder look at schedule and once an award has been made, it will hold industry accountable to meet “all the wickets.” If that happens, the schedule can be pulled to the left. https://www.defensenews.com/space/2020/04/24/pentagon-releases-request-for-proposals-on-next-generation-interceptor/

  • NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and CTEM – Better Together

    5 septembre 2024 | International, C4ISR, Sécurité

    NIST Cybersecurity Framework (CSF) and CTEM – Better Together

    Discover how NIST CSF 2.0 and CTEM align to improve proactive cybersecurity through continuous monitoring.

Toutes les nouvelles