Turkish Aerospace to Build Flight Control System Integration Facility for Fighter Jet Project

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) will open a new flight control system integrated test facility called “Iron Bird” to accelerate the pace of its defense projects, including the one to build a fifth-generation indigenous stealth fighter jet.

The facility, scheduled to enter operation in February 2022, will speed up the development, certification and production processes of domestic defense products.

The Iron Bird will provide infrastructure for the integrated testing and verification of critical systems in National Combat Aircraft (MMU) as well as Hürjet, Turkey's advanced jet trainer and light attack aircraft and its different configurations, TAI announced Wednesday.

The facility will carry out tests on different systems, including flight control systems, hydraulic systems, landing gear systems, electrical systems (simulation and real), as well as simplified cockpit and avionics systems.

Iron Bird will employ approximately 50 people and is expected to operate for over 30 years.

About the tests to be carried out at the facility, TAI General Manager Temel Kotil said, “with counterloading systems, it will be possible to observe outputs of the flight control system by applying loads to all control surfaces of the aircraft that may be exposed during maneuvers due to environmental conditions.”

He added, “the data collected in real-time recording, replay and instant analysis features was also designed as the primary data center for the 'Virtual Twin' concept to work.”