Turkish F-16s to Fly with Indigenous AESA Radar Later This Year

Turkish F-16 fighters will take to the skies equipped with indigenously-developed MURAD AESA radar for the first time this year.

First two aircraft modernized under the F-16 Block 30 ÖZGÜR Project, were delivered to the Turkish Air Force in the past months. They are fitted with Turkey-made software and mission computer.

Turkish publication SavunmaSanayiST.com reported that the F-16 fitted with MURAD radar will perform its maiden flight in September 2023. The radar will also be equipped on the AKINCI combat drone.

“Our MURAD AESA is a very modern radar. It is a radar development project identical to the most advanced radars currently in the world. We will be talking about an aircraft with fully digitized components in the cockpit and several national products into which Turkish systems can be integrated, and our national weapons can be used,” Defense Industries Presidency (SSB) head İsmail Demir has said about the radar in the past.