Türkiye has issued a Military Type Certificate to a domestically developed aircraft on the basis of a certification campaign carried out entirely by national personnel for the first time. The certificate was awarded on September 9 to the HÜRKUŞ-II, produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), by a certification board made up of personnel from the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB) and the Air Force Command.
The certification work covered 12 separate disciplines, according to the SSB. Panels verified 1,790 certification requirements, technically reviewed 950 supporting documents and oversaw 153 certification tests.
The award extends Türkiye’s established ability to design and manufacture aircraft into testing, validation, airworthiness assessment and certification. It is the first time the country has completed a military type certification process for a domestically produced aircraft that complies with international standards and rests on national expertise alone.
Görgün calls the process a strategic milestone
SSB President Haluk Görgün said the certification marks a milestone for the Turkish aerospace industry that is as strategic as it is technical.
“The HÜRKUŞ-II Military Type Certificate is a concrete demonstration of Türkiye’s capability to design, manufacture, test, validate, and certify its own aircraft,” Görgün said.
He said the agency is building the technical authority, methodology and certification culture required to validate the reliability of its platforms with national personnel, alongside its work developing the platforms themselves.
“The certification experience we have gained with the HÜRKUŞ-II will translate into lasting capability and a strong institutional memory for our future national aerial platforms,” Görgün said.
Experts from several institutions staffed the panels
The campaign drew on technical teams from several institutions working in a single framework spanning design, production, validation and technical evaluation.
The SSB Directorate of Quality, Testing and Certification contributed seven experts, and 16 certification experts from TR Airworthiness Services (TRUE) served on panels on behalf of the agency. The Air Force Command took part with five experts, while 12 certification experts from the Ministry of National Defense sat on panels on the command’s behalf.
TUSAŞ, the contractor, assigned 40 airworthiness experts and 10 design and production organization approval experts to the work.
Certification covered 12 technical disciplines
Panels examined avionics, electronic equipment, electrical systems and electromagnetic environmental effects, propulsion and fuel, human factors, cabin safety, system safety, continued airworthiness, aircraft systems, flight performance, structures and software.
The process involved 283 panel meetings and workshops. Auditors also carried out 225 audits of subcontractors supporting software and electronic hardware activities, in addition to the requirements verification and document review conducted by the panels.
Validation rested on 153 tests
Under the validation activities defined in the certification plans, the HÜRKUŞ-II underwent 38 laboratory tests, 71 ground tests and 44 flight tests, for a total of 153 tests across the various validation levels.
The tests determined on technical evidence whether the aircraft met the applicable certification requirements, and formed the evidence base for the Military Type Certificate.
The SSB said it intends to apply the capabilities built during the project to the design, testing, validation and certification of future national aircraft platforms.
