With all due respect, I really wanted Turkish member to answer this question.
Just look at the link below.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Turkish_Aerospace_Industries
Just because we are assembling JF-17 doesn’t mean our aviation industry is Superior to Turkish aviation industry. Even in 20 years we won’t be able to catch up to Turkish aviation industry.
In 20 years, Turkey will be competing with Italy, Spain and Russia.
Hi,
That is an impressive resume---but they have not built a fighter aircraft yet and ours has been thru combat---.
We are a poor and a broke nation---but there are two things the Turks don't have--experience in (on the good side)---nucs and fighter aircraft---.
We are way beyond assembling at this stage---we are into building and manufacturing---.
Don't sell our abilities short just because the paint is peeling off the floor of the aircraft hangar---or the uniform of our techs is average quality or we are drilling by hand---we are way ahead of them in this field---and why we are ahead---.
Even though the Paf has issues---there are some dedicated lunatics in the Paf in the high and low ranks who only see one thing---the star and crescent flying high---.
Trust me on this---. There has been no one bigger critic than me of the JF17---and I am telling you that there is far more success behind the build of this aircraft than is imaginable---. With all the duress---and with all the negatives and stress---all the sabotage from western sellers and all the hinderances and threats from many a places---the JF17 is a reality---and this reality puts us way ahead of those who have yet to start.
We have seen failures and hardships on this project---we have seen difficulties that would make others quit---we have been talked down by everyone---we have seen sanctions against us---at the last moment we have been refused power plant---EW package---.
But it was the tenacity of those " lunatics "---their endurance---their never accept no attitude ---that they even turned our russia to provide us with a power plant and pushed china so hard that they ended up competing for an EW package against the world renowned manufacturers the Italians---and bettered them---.
I am pretty sure that Turkey will come to the arena and will succeed very well in the fighter aircraft field because it already has a base established to propel it forward---. OTOH---we never had anything but the experience of overhauling and rebuilding old junk Mirages and F7's into functional and operational aircraft---.
What we have learnt in this process---if we have not learnt it---then we should---you must never start on these massive project yourself---it takes team it takes diversity it takes prior experience and it takes resource to build a modern day fighter aircraft it takes endurance it challenges your sanity it challenges your patience it challenges your very thought process and turns it upside down---it makes you so crazy that you even end up putting your display aircraft on a flat bed to show your countrymen what you have achieved in your failure---.
@Irfan Baloch @Windjammer @Mangus Ortus Novem @Mentee @denel @raja786