Pak Delivers Three ‘Indigenously Developed’ MFI-17 Aircraft To Turkey

Pakistan supplied Turkey with the Super Mushshak training aircraft, a military trainer and light attack aircraft designed and manufactured by the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) for domestic and export purposes.

The official Twitter account of the Republic of Turkey’s Ministry of National Defence released information, on 31 October, regarding the induction of the new military trainer aircraft produced in Pakistan.

“The acceptance activities of three Super Mushshak aircraft produced by Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) within the scope of Initial Trainer Aircraft Project were completed and entered into the inventory of our Air Force Command at Yalova Airport Command,” the MOD tweeted. 

In 2017, Turkey signed a deal with Pakistan to order 52 Super Mushshak trainers from Aeronautical Complex Kamra (PAC Kamra) on the sidelines of the International Defence Industry Fair (IDEF). 

The delivery was initially scheduled to begin in 2020 but was postponed because of delays brought on by the Covid-19 pandemic. The remaining 49 aircraft will now be delivered to the TurAF by PAC over the next two years.

Nonetheless, the agreement marked a turning point in Turkish-Pakistani defence relations, boosting collaboration between the two countries.

The Saab MFI-15 served as the basis for the plane’s design. The rights to the aircraft, which made its first flight in the 1970s, were sold to Pakistan.

Later, PAC developed an improved version of the aircraft and assigned the designation MFI-17. Turkey will replace the Italian-designed SF-260 trainers with Super Mushshak.

In 2019, it was reported that Pakistan successfully equipped a variant of the Super Mushshak with anti-tank missiles. At the time, it was stated that a weaponised version of Super Mushshak, which also boasts upgrades to its targeting capability, would be equipped with “Buraq laser-guided missiles.”

The Super Mushshak employs an engine from the US based on a design exported by Sweden’s Saab. In the past two decades, the Pakistan Aeronautical Complex (PAC) in Kamra has produced over 300 Super Mushshak aircraft for domestic and export usage.

Besides Turkey, Pakistan has exported this trainer aircraft to several countries, including Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Iran, South Africa, Qatar and Nigeria.