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Monthly Defense News Recap – January 2023
Turkish Aerospace Carries Out Test Run of Hürjet’s Engine
On 02 February, Turkish Aerospace / Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş. (TAI) announced that it successfully carried out the test-engine run of its Hürjet trainer. According to TAI, the test was a major milestone and that the Hürjet is nearing its maiden test flight, which is scheduled to take place in March of this year.
The TAI Hürjet is a next-generation lead-in fighter trainer (LIFT) and lightweight multirole combat aircraft. Commissioned by Turkey’s Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) in 2017, the Hürjet was envisaged as a successor for Turkey’s aging T-37s in the advanced training and fighter conversion roles.
In terms of design, the Hürjet is comparable to the Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) T-50. In fact, both the Hürjet and the T-50 share the same turbofan model, i.e., the GE F404. Like the T-50, TAI is also developing the Hürjet as a lightweight fighter capable of deploying air-to-air and air-to-surface munitions.
While primarily designed for the Turkish Air Force, the SSB and TAI have also marketed the Hürjet overseas to potential export markets, especially those already engaged with the Turkish defence industry in other areas, like Malaysia, Azerbaijan, Pakistan, and others…
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Pakistan Lays Keel of Locally Designed Patrol Boat
On 28 January, the Pakistan Navy (PN) announced that Karachi Shipyard & Engineering Works (KSEW) laid the keel of the PN’s first “indigenously designed” gun boat/patrol boat.
This follows the steel cutting ceremony towards the end of last year. In October 2022, the PN announced that the Naval Research and Development Institute (NRDI), its in-house design bureau, steered the patrol boat program. However, several foreign partners, notably Swiftships, were also involved in the project.
The PN did not disclose the specifications of the patrol boat. However, the PN did reveal that the boat has a length of 38.8 m. Ships of that length typically have displacements of around 200 to 250 tons…
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New Chinese Frigate Reportedly Breaks Cover
On 21 January, images taken by the Pleiades satellite system reportedly show China constructing its next-generation frigate at its Hudong Shipyard in Shanghai (via Tom Shugart).
According to Tum Shugart, an analyst and retired U.S. Navy officer, the new frigate appears to have a length of 147 m. This is longer than the Type 054A frigate, which is the mainstay frigate of the People’s Liberation Army Navy (PLAN). Shugart estimates that the new Chinese frigate could have a displacement of around 6,000 tons, which would be nearly 50% larger than the Type 054A…
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India Commissions its 5th Kalvari-class (Scorpene / Project 75) Submarine
On 23 January, the Indian Navy (IN) commissioned its fifth (of a total of six) Project 75 Kalvari-class diesel-electric submarines (SSK). Initiated in 2005, the Project 75 program comprised of six Naval Group (formerly DCNS) Scorpene submarines from France and built under license by Mazagaon Dockyard Limited…
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