The reasons why Spain should not replace its F-5BM with the Turkish TAI Hürjet

Spain has already made mistakes in the past when purchasing weapons systems and could now end up making another one.

The four candidates of the Spanish Air Force to replace its old F-5M
T-7A Red Hawk, the new USAF trainer and the reason why it wears its red tail

In May I reviewed here the four candidates that the Air Force is handling to replace its 19 Northrop F-5BM Freedom Fighter , aircraft used for fighter and attack training by Wing 23, based in Talavera La Real (Badajoz). The F-5BMs are already very old aircraft. This aircraft model made its first flight in 1959 and the first units arrived in Spain in 1970.

In that article I already pointed out that it is possible that the Spanish government is considering this option for commercial reasons, since Turkey has built a twin aircraft carrier to the "Juan Carlos I" L-61 together with the Spanish shipyard Navantia, the TCG Anadolu L-400, and in addition the Ministry of Defense could take advantage of the opportunity to get rid of the surplus A400Ms that Spain has, by exchanging aircraft with Turkey, which would make the acquisition of the Hürjet cheaper (below these lines).

The commercial and political reasons behind the possible purchase of TAI Hürjet

These commercial reasons have recently been joined by political reasons: Pedro Sánchez has declared himself Turkey's best ally in the European Union, a very questionable geostrategic bet for the reason that I already explained here in May: although it is a member country of NATO, Turkey is one of the countries that gives the most support to Hamas terrorists, to the which Turkish President Erdogan has described as "a liberation group" after these criminals perpetrated a year ago the greatest massacre suffered by the Jewish people since the Holocaust.

If it were only for political reasons, the acquisition of the Türjet would already be a very bad idea, since it would lead Spain to depend on a regime allied with terrorists. That Sánchez feels sympathy for such a regime is scandalous, but the personal preferences of a prime minister should not compromise our national security, by linking it with a regime with less press freedom than Sudan and Venezuela, according to the World Press Freedom Index 2024.

As for the political and commercial reasons, I already warned in May that Erdogan has approved the construction of yet another aircraft carrier, the TCG Trakya, without Spain's participation, leaving Navantia and any other Spanish company on the sidelines after the technology transfer that was involved in the construction in Turkey of the TCG Anadolu with Spanish participation. In short, Turkey has taken advantage of Spain and in return Sánchez intends to reward it for it with the purchase of the Türjet. It's a total nonsense.

The aeronautical reasons for ruling out the Turkish aircraft

Aside from the political and commercial reasons, the aeronautical reasons for not buying the Türjet are even greater. In fact, they would be enough to disqualify this option compared to its competitors even if Turkey were an exemplary democracy, which it is not. In my previous article I already pointed out that the TAI Hürjet still made its first flight on April 25, 2023, so it is in the development phase. It is an aircraft that has not been tested and, despite this, Sánchez has insisted on buying it, judging by what various media have been publishing in recent months.

One of the reasons given for this purchase is that the Türjet uses the same engine as the EF-18, the General Electric F404-GE-102, which would greatly simplify its maintenance and the logistical footprint of this aircraft for the Air Force, as aerospace engineer Sergio Hidalgo points out in a video published today. It should be said that two other candidates to replace the F-5BM, the South Korean KAI T-50 and the Boeing-Saab T-7 Red Hawk (below these lines) built by the US and Sweden, also use that engine. Specifically, the T-50 uses the same variant as the EF-18, the F404-GE-102, while the T-7 uses the F404-GE-103 variant.

If it were only a matter of the engine, it should be noted that the T-50 made its maiden flight in 2002 and is already in service with several air forces, including the Polish Air Force, which has acquired the fighter version of that aircraft, the FA-50. Thus, the T-50 is an already proven aircraft. In turn, the T-7 is in the testing phase, but made its maiden flight in 2016, before the Hürjet. The T-7 will replace the USAF’s T-38 Talon, an aircraft very similar to the F-5BM. With the Hürjet, Spain would be the first export customer for an aircraft that has not even entered service, with all the risks that entails.

To this we can add the experience of each aeronautical industry. Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), the manufacturer of the T-50 (above), has a similar experience to TAI in aircraft construction, but South Korea's technological power is incomparable to that of Turkey. In fact, KAI also manufactures space vehicles. Honestly, if I had to choose between a South Korean product and a Turkish one, my choice would be very clear.

As for the other competitors, Boeing’s experience in aircraft construction is beyond doubt, as it is one of the largest aircraft companies in the world and covers a huge market in many countries. In turn, Leonardo, the manufacturer of another of the contenders, the M-346 Master (above these lines, an aircraft that is also in service with several air forces, including that of Poland), has all the experience of Alenia Aermacchi, an Italian company that has been manufacturing aircraft for over a century. Aermacchi was the designer of two good training aircraft, the MB-326 and the MB-339. Alenia was one of the companies that designed the Panavia Tornado, an excellent fighter aircraft.

On the other hand, if the purchase of Hürjet were made through an exchange of A400Ms (on these lines), the beneficiary would be Turkey, since it would get a model that has already been tested and is already in service with several air forces and which, in addition, is the fruit of a European industry that is much more capable than the Turkish aeronautical industry. The big question is: why do we have Airbus if we then have to buy a more than dubious aircraft from Turkey? It makes no sense for Sánchez's government to flee from the American aeronautical industry like the plague, avoiding the F-35 as if it were a taboo, and at the same time bet on the Turkish industry. I repeat: it is a total nonsense.

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Photos: Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) / U.S. Air Force / Republic of Korea Armed Forces / Polska Zbrojna.