Turkish Aerospace Industries
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| Type | Defence and Advanced Technology |
|---|---|
| Industry | Aerospace, defence and telecommunications |
| Founded | 1984 |
| Headquarters | Ankara, Turkey |
| Products | Aircraft Projects, Aviation Upgrades, Defence Systems |
| Net income |  $632,7 million (2008 est.) |
| Employees | 3,963 (as of 1 December, 2011) |
| Website | http://www.tai.com.tr |
Turkish Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TAI) is the center of technology in design, development, manufacturing, integration of aerospace systems, modernization and after sales support in Turkey.
The Turkish Aircraft Industries, Inc. (TAI) and TUSAŞ Aerospace Industries, Inc. (TUSAŞ) merged under the name TAI on April 28, 2005. The shareholders of the company are the Turkish Armed Forces Strengthening Foundation (TSKGV), Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM) and the Turkish Aeronautical Association (THK). On 12 January 2005, the Lockheed Martin of Turkey, Inc. (42%) and General Electric International, Inc. (7%) transferred all their shares of TAI to the Turkish Aircraft Industries, Inc. (TUSAŞ).[1]
Located in Ankara, the capital of Turkey, the TAI production plant covers an area of 5 million square meters with an industrial facility of 150,000 square meters under its roof. The company has a modern aircraft facility furnished with high technology machinery and equipment that provide extensive manufacturing capabilities ranging from parts manufacturing to aircraft assembly, flight tests and delivery. Quality system of the company meets the stringent world standards including NATO AQAP-110, ISO-9001:2000, AS EN 9100 and AECMA-EASE.
As of 2010, Turkish Aerospace Industries employs over 1500 engineers, of whom approximately 850 are R&D engineers working in military research projects.
[edit] Projects
TAI’s experience includes the licenced production of F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, CN-235 light transport/maritime patrol/surveillance aircraft, SF-260 trainers, Cougar AS-532 search and rescue (SAR), combat search and rescue (CSAR) and utility helicopters as well as the design and development of Unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), target drones and agricultural aircraft.
TAI’s core business also includes modernization, modification and systems integration programs and after sales support of both fixed and rotary wing military and commercial aircraft that are in the inventory of Turkey and its allies.
The major programs of TAI include:
- Electronic warfare retrofit and structural modifications on Turkish Air Force F-16s.[2]
- MLU, Falcon-Up and Falcon Star Modifications on the Royal Jordanian Air Force (RJAF) F-16s,[3]
- Modifications of 42 Block-15 F-16's of Pakistan Air Force to Block-50.[4]
- Modification of the S-2E Tracker Maritime Patrol Aircraft into Fire Fighting Aircraft
- CN-235 and Black Hawk modifications for the Turkish Special Forces
- Modification of CN-235 platforms for MPA/MSA missions for the Turkish Navy and Coast Guard
- Modification and modernization of Eurocopter AS 532[5]
- Glass Cockpit Retrofit of S-70 helicopters[6]
- Conversion of B737-700 aircraft AEW&C aircraft[7]
- Avionics modernization of C-130 aircraft for the Turkish Air Force (TuAF) [8]
- Production of the center fuselage of Joint Strike Fighter F-35 aircraft[9]
- Participating in the design and development of the A400M military transport and tanker aircraft[10]
- Avionics modernization of T-38 aircraft for the Turkish Air Force [11]
- Design, development and production of the attack helicopter T-129 for the Turkish Armed Forces (TAF).[12]
- Design, development and production of Turkish Primary and Basic Training Aircraft, named HÜRKUŞ, with EASA CS-23 certification.[13]
- Design, development and production of Anka unmanned aerial vehicle for the Turkish Air Force.[14]
TAI is engaged in manufacturing aerostructures for fixed and rotary wing, military and commercial aircraft for worldwide customers. TAI is in various partnership arrangements with Agusta, Alenia Aeronautica, Airbus, Boeing, CASA, Eurocopter, IAI, Lockheed Martin, Northrop Grumman, MD Helicopters, Sikorsky, Sonaca and numerous other companies in aeropsace sector.
TAI manufactures Section 18 fuselage panels for Airbus 319/320/321 aircraft, wing tips and flight deck panels for Boeing 737[15] aircraft, rear doors and engine cowlings for Eurocopter EC135 helicopters, MD 902 fuselage for MD Helicopters, horizontal stabilizers, tail rotor pylons and tail booms for Sikorsky S-70A and MH-60 helicopters, horizontal stabilizers for Sikorsky S-76 helicopters and AB139 fuselage for Agusta.[16] Furthermore, TAI manufactures nose landing gear doors for the Boeing 747, dorsal fin for 777 and parts/subassembly parts for 737/767/777. It also manufactures seven components of the Eurocopter AS 532 helicopter.
TAI, which had a single program (the co-production of the F-16 Fighting Falcon) at its establishment phase, is working on over 50 military and commercial programs today. As a partner of the Airbus Military S.L., TAI has been participating in the design and development activities of the Airbus A400M program with the leading European aerospace companies; namely Airbus (France, Germany, Spain and UK), EADS CASA (Spain) and FLABEL (Belgium) from the beginning of the project. TAI has accepted the production of A350XWB's winglets with the new cooperation.
[edit] References
- ^ Lockheed Martin, GE sell stake in TUSAS Aerospace Industries, The Manufacturer, 13 Jan 2005
- ^ "Turk Hava Kuvvetleri Turkish Air Force - TUAF". f-16.net. http://www.f-16.net/f-16_users_article21.html. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "TAI DELIVERS RJAF'S FIRST F-16 A/C MODERNIZED AT ITS FACILITIES". tai.com.tr. 17 Oct 2007. http://www.tai.com.tr/news.aspx?contentDefID=72. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "Turkish Aerospace Industries to upgrade 42 F-16 jets". defence.pk. 20 Aug 2008. http://www.defence.pk/20080820/turkish-aerospace-industries-to-upgrade-42-f-16-jets/. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "Tusas Aerospace Industries (TAI) from Turkey and EUROCOPTER Extend their Cooperation in the Super Puma / Cougar Helicopter Family". eurocopter.com. 7 Sep 2004. http://www.eurocopter.com/site/FO/scripts/myFO_publication.php?news_id=270&lang=EN. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) Delivers First S-70i BLACK HAWK Helicopter Tailcone". sikorsky.com. 28 Apr 2009. http://www.sikorsky.com/vgn-ext-templating-SIK/v/index.jsp?vgnextoid=00de6eb78fa78110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD&vgnextchannel=162f45d57ef68110VgnVCM1000001382000aRCRD&vgnextfmt=default&pressvcmid=3099aab580de0210VgnVCM1000004f62529fRCRD. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "737 AEW&C Wedgetail Airborne Early Warning and Control Aircraft, USA". airforce-technology.com. http://www.airforce-technology.com/projects/737aewc/. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "The first C-130 aircraft, the avionics modernization of which will be realized by TAI, arrived at TAI's facilities". tai.com.tr. 27 Dec 2007. http://www.tai.com.tr/news.aspx?contentDefID=76. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "TAI delivers first composite parts for F-35". reinforcedplastics.com. 5 Mar 2009. http://www.reinforcedplastics.com/view/421/tai-delivers-first-composite-parts-for-f35/. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "Getting Ready for Takeoff". defensenews.com. 18 Jan 2010. http://www.defensenews.com/story.php?i=4458183. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "Modernization & Modification Program - T-38 AVIONICS MODERNIZATION". defenceproducts.ssm.gov.tr. 1 Sep 2009. http://defenceproducts.ssm.gov.tr/content/productDetails.aspx?ID=124. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.[dead link]
- ^ "T-129 fighter chopper aces maiden test flight". todayszaman.com. 29 Sep 2009. http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-188347-t-129-fighter-chopper-aces-maiden-test-flight.html. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "TAI'S TURKISH PRIMARY AND BASIC TRAINER AIRCRAFT (HURKUS) TO BE DISPLAYED AT 47TH PARIS AIR SHOW". tai.com.tr. 6 Jun 2007. http://www.tai.com.tr/news.aspx?contentDefID=63. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "TAI Unveils ANKA Unmanned Airplane". trDefence. http://www.trdefence.com/?p=1121. Retrieved 20 July 2010.
- ^ "TAI's support to local sub-tier industry development". tai.com.tr. 18 Feb 2005. http://www.tai.com.tr/news.aspx?contentDefID=13. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
- ^ "TAI in deal to supply fuselage sections for AgustaWestland AB139". flightglobal.com. 27 Apr 2004. http://www.flightglobal.com/articles/2004/04/27/180792/tai-in-deal-to-supply-fuselage-sections-for-agustawestland.html. Retrieved 04 Jun 2010.
[edit] External links
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