Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (Turkish: Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayi A.Ş., abbr.TAI or TUSAŞ) is a state-ownedarms company in Turkey.
History
Turkish Aerospace was incorporated under the Ministry of Industry and Technology on June 28, 1973 to reduce Turkey’s foreign dependence in defense industry.
With the decision to use F-16 aircraft to meet the Turkish Air Force's fighter aircraft need, Turkish Aerospace was incorporated by TAI in 1984 for a period of 25 years as a Turkish-U.S. joint investment company to carry out the manufacture of F-16 aircraft, integration of on-board systems and flight tests .
Before the end of the 25-year period, Turkish Aerospace was restructured through the purchase of Turkish Aerospace's foreign shares by Turkish shareholders in 2005. Thereunder, TAI and TUSAŞ were merged under Turkish Aerospace Inc. to broaden its activities and has become Turkey's technology center for the development, modernization, manufacture, system integration and lifecycle support of the aviation and space industry systems.
Being among the top hundred global players in aviation and space industry, Turkish Aerospace is organized under six strategic business centers depending on the projects, including:
Aviation Structurals Group
Aircraft Group,
Helicopter Group,
Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (UAV) Systems Group,
Space Systems Group,
National Combat Aircraft (NCA) Group
Engineering Group
In addition, integrated logistics support is provided for all products designed/manufactured by Turkish Aerospace
Projects
Model of reconnaissance and military satellite Göktürk-2 during the IDEF 2015
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 Defence and Space, 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.
TAI's experience includes the licensed production of General Dynamics F-16 Fighting Falcon jets, CASA/IPTN CN-235 light transport/maritime patrol/surveillance aircraft, SIAI-Marchetti 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 manufactures Section 18 fuselage panels for Airbus 319/320/321 aircraft, wing tips and flight deck panels for Boeing 737 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 fuselages for Agusta. 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'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.
National Products Projects
Since the 2010s, TAI has focused on developing domestic products. Priority was given to unmanned aerial systems. In 2010, the unmanned aerial vehicleAnka was produced and its first flight was made. In 2013, the turboproptraining aircraftHürkuş was produced and its first flight was made. In 2018, the T625 Gökbeyutility helicopter was produced and its first flight was made. In 2019, the first flight of the twin-engine Aksungur, an advanced version of Anka, took place. In 2023, TAI realized two major projects. Hürjet, the first Turkish jet trainer fighter aircraft, and the Anka-3, a jet-powered stealthunmanned combat aerial vehicle, made their first flights in 2023. In 2024, TAI's fifth-generationstealth fighter aircraft project, Kaan, made its first flight.
TAI, as a major partner, has initiated numerous domestic engine projects through Tusaş Engine Industries (TEI), the engine company it established in collaboration with GE Aerospace. The company has produced the PD170 engine for unmanned aerial vehicles, the TS1400 engine for helicopters, and the TF6000 engine for jet aircraft. In 2025, the TF35000 project was announced for the Kaan fifth-generation fighter jet.
TAI's Hürkuş basic trainer aircraft has been granted air worthiness type certification, the company announced at the 2016 Farnborough International Airshow.
Other projects
In May 2015 the Turkish regional jet project was launched, which consisted of the indigenous production of two regional aircraft in different sizes. The 32-seat TRJ-328 jet with a range up to 2,000nmi (2,300mi; 3,700km) was planned to enter service in 2019. It was a Fairchild Dornier 328JET-based, modernized aircraft with new cockpit and engines. The larger, 70-seat TRJ-628 jet would be ready in 2023. The project has since been cancelled.
Turkish Aerospace/TUSAS produced 46 F-16s for the Egyptian Air Force between 1993 and 1995 under the agreement signed between the Governments of Turkey and the Arab Republic of Egypt. A contract to produce 46 Block 40 F-16C/D's for the Egyptian Air Force was placed with TUSAS Aerospace Industries (TAI) of Turkey. 34 of them will be F-16C's, 12 will be F-16D's. This was carried out under the auspices of the Peace Vector IV program, and marked the first sale of a foreign-built Fighting Falcon to a third-party nation in the history of the F-16 program.
In June 2024 news media reported that TAI was responsible for introducing questionable titanium into the supply chain for aircraft parts which ultimately were used to manufacture some Boeing and Airbus passenger planes built between 2019 and 2023. The titanium sold by TAI included falsified authenticity documents that originated from a metals supplier in China, calling into question whether the titanium was of suitable aviation-grade. However, Spirit's testing has confirmed that the titanium is the appropriate grade for airplane manufacturers.
TAI Gözcü (2007), short-range tactical ISTAR drone
TAI Gölge, Stealth, Propeller-driven, ISR&EW UAV.
TAI Gölge was unveiled at the SAHA Expo 2026 in Istanbul. Gölge is a compact tactical UAV designed for ISR and EW missions. It has a stealth, flying-wing–influenced delta configuration with internal payload bays. The aircraft is powered by a 14hp two-cylinder piston engine in a pusher configuration, driving a two-bladed propeller. It is launched via a ground-based catapult system and recovered using a parachute-assisted landing system. Gölge incorporates a modular payload architecture that allows the integration of EO/IR sensors and EW systems. It uses autonomous flight control with GNSS-based navigation, anti-jamming capabilities, and a line-of-sight datalink for communication with the ground control station. According to TAI and exhibition sources, Gölge has a wingspan of approximately 5 metres, a maximum take-off weight of around 100kg (including a payload capacity of up to 15kg), an endurance of up to 10 hours, a range of approximately 1,300km, and a service ceiling of around 12,000 feet (3,660m). Its maximum speed is reported to be approximately 165km/h.
TAI Keklik (2001), target drone for tracking and non-firing exercise
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