Spain signed a pact with Türkiye on Wednesday to import HURJET, the country’s first indigenously developed jet trainer and light attack aircraft manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries Inc. (TAI).
A memorandum of understanding (MoU) also includes plans to co-produce the aircraft’s infrastructure in Spain.
Turkish Deputy Defense Ministers Musa Heybet and Suay Alpay, Türkiye’s Ambassador to Madrid Nuket Kucukel Ezberci, TAI General Manager Mehmet Demiroglu, Spain’s Director General of Defense Industrial Strategy and Innovation, and Air and Space Force Lieutenant General Miguel Ivorra, other officials attended the signing ceremony in Madrid.
“Today is a very important day. Today, Türkiye has once again demonstrated its strength in defense aviation to the entire world,” Alpay told Anadolu.
Emphasizing that concrete steps were taken with a valuable product like HURJET rather than just slogans or expectations, he added: “A memorandum was signed here today, and the whole world witnessed it. This is just the beginning. We must proceed with care and sensitivity.”
He noted that HuRJET is a project developed with national resources and that he personally signed off on it. “This is truly a special and valuable day for Turkey, Spain, and Europe. Evaluating global developments, everyone has already seen that Europe cannot proceed without Türkiye. Today’s agreement is a concrete sign of that. It should be seen as a signal flare.”
“Without Türkiye, Europe’s security is at risk and under threat. Everyone knows this very well,” he said, stressing Türkiye’s potential coming from its historical potential and responsibility.
Highlighting the critical nature of Spain being both a NATO and EU member, Alpay said this makes the HURJET agreement even more significant: “Today’s geopolitical conditions and developments have once again demonstrated how important and strong Türkiye’s position is in terms of its potential,” he further said.