The first day of the biennial Paris Air Show was dominated by breaking military aviation stories as two new sixth-generation fighter mock-ups were revealed within minutes of each other.
With huge crowds gathered, French President Emmanuel Macron, along with German defense minister Ursula von der Leyen, and Margarita Robles, the defence minister of Spain, agreed to form an alliance with industrial partners Dassault, Airbus, MBDA Systems, Safran, MTU and Thales for a demonstrator phase for a new Future Combat Air System, also known as Le système de combat aérien du futur (SCAF).
The announcement came with the reveal of a full-size concept mock-up aircraft — the Next Generation Fighter (NGF).
Meanwhile, on the other side of the show ground, Turkish Aerospace revealed a full-scale mock-up of its TF-X sixth-generation fighter. Amid a row with the US that threatens to expel Turkey from the F-35 Lightning II program, Turkey’s indigenous fighter project has assumed new importance.
Full details will appear in the August issue of Combat Aircraft.
The Turkish TF-X mock-up revealed in Paris. Jamie Hunter
Sign up to our newsletter for email updates and news.
For binders, books, DVDs and more 