According to a news report on the Defence Mirror website, the Turkish-developed fifth-generation stealth fighter jet TF-X departed the hangar on March 17 evening.
President of Defence Industries of Türkiye İsmail Demir remarked, "We said that we would take our National Combat Aircraft out of the hangar on March 18. Our plane is on the runway today!"
The aircraft is planned to be kept operational in the Turkish Air Force until the 2070s and will be interoperable with other assets, such as F-16. Türkiye desires indigenous aircraft to replace F-16s by the 2030s.
The US-based website The Drive reports that the first prototype of TF-X has completed a series of taxi tests.
Temel Kotil, the CEO of the Turkish Aerospace Industries, said in January that the jet could make its maiden flight this year.
The TF-X project, which kicked off in 2010, appears to have reached a significant milestone.
According to prototype-based assessments, a novel sensor configuration at the front end of the aircraft seems unique among known advanced fighter jet designs currently fielded or in development.
The pictures from the Presidency of Defence Industries show engines that look to be broadly in line with those seen on the General Electric F110 series. Türkiye’s ultimate goal is to eventually switch to a domestically produced type.