Domestic Feasibility Project of Fighter Aircraft Paint Delivered Results…. Hacettepe Advanced Paint Technologies and Chemical Industry Inc. located in the technopark established in partnership with Hacettepe University. (HİBTEK) Technical Advisor and Hacettepe University Lecturer Hayrettin Aydın told Anadolu Agency (AA) that especially the military embargo made due to the Cyprus Peace Operation was instrumental in the development of domestic war systems.
Stating that they spent thousands of hours in R&D within the scope of SADAK (Domestic Feasibility Project of Combat Aircraft Paint), which started in 1989 at the university, Aydın said that they finally achieved success:
'You wouldn't send an unpainted plane into battle because the plane's fuselage is aluminum alloy and a very obvious target for enemy radars.
The name of the project was 'Domestic Feasibility Project of Fighter Aircraft Paint'. The project developed very quickly. We started in 1989. In 1990, we flew 2 F-5 planes. A warplane can descend from -60 degrees Celsius to +70 degrees Celsius on the runway. A sudden temperature change of 130 degrees ruins the paint. Photographs of the planes were taken every week and the paint was carefully checked by the Air Force Command to see if there was any flaking, blistering or wear. About a year later it was painted on F-4, F-104, T-37 and T-38 type aircraft. They also flew for a year without any problems. On April 30, 1993, the Air Force Command wrote to the Air Logistics Command that the paints could be purchased from Hacettepe. All military aircraft and helicopters in Turkey have been painted with our paints for nearly 20 years. We make sales through the university's revolving fund.'
Fresh paint is very important
Explaining that warplanes, helicopters and other equipment should be painted due to the need for both protection against corrosion and camouflage, Aydın stated that they worked and succeeded to produce both domestic and higher quality paints.
Aydın said, “It is very important that the paint is made in Turkey because the shelf life of the paints is a maximum of 1 year. But when it comes from the USA, it is waiting on the shelf, which was previously produced, and it wastes time in transportation and is 30 percent more expensive than us. We produce every 3 months, and most importantly, it is clear which warplane or helicopter in the TAF will be painted and when. We deliver materials according to the needs of the TAF," he said.
Aydın stated that while approximately 300-400 kilos of paint is used in a passenger plane, an average of 16-50 kilos of paint is used in an F-60 fighter plane.
He said that companies doing business in the defense industry also buy paint from them. Hayrettin Aydın pointed out that due to the project of one of these companies, the subcontractor company abroad also bought paint from them, so they made the first export.
Stating that they also produce infrared paint at HİBTEK, Aydın emphasized that nature gives the light reflection values of nature to the paints, so military vehicles and equipment painted with infrared paint cannot be easily noticed by the enemy.
non-radar paint
Hayrettin Aydın reported that as of today, the world's best RAM paint (Radar Absorbing Material) is produced in Turkey.
Aydın gave the following information about the paint, which he stated is not possible to be sold abroad:
'RAM is a paint that does not reflect back at all, thus preventing, for example, aircraft from being detected by the radar. Anyone can make other paints, but nobody else can make this paint in this quality except the USA and us, I speak clearly. In the tests carried out, we have shown with reports that the paint we produce is much better than the paint produced in the USA.
Cross the borders of an enemy country with a RAM painted plane today, radars will not be able to see it. In wartime, this plane crosses the border, drops the bomb, then leaves without being seen by the radars. Seconds matter in this business. Aircraft or ground radar, whichever sees first, can eliminate the other.' '1 kilo of paint or 1 liter of fuel? Underlining that weight is very important for warplanes, Aydın also gave the following information:
'Formula 1 cars are like warplanes and weight is very important. According to the competition rules, the weight of the car; It must weigh at least 642 kilograms, including the driver, excluding gasoline. Formula pilots are chosen from people who are as light as possible in terms of weight, as the lighter one than the vehicle with the same engine power will go faster and the extra gasoline will mean extra laps.
In wartime, an airplane can stay in the air longer if it takes 1 liter more fuel instead of 1 kilogram of unnecessary load.
Stating that the ground radars on warplanes and the places that can be seen by another plane in the air are painted with RAM, Aydın said, 'I say symbolically; If you want, offer 1 dollars to the USA, which produces 100 dollar a kilo of this paint, it will definitely not give it, because it is a strategic product,' he said.
Explaining that RAM paint is 4 times more expensive than camouflage paint, Aydın said that this paint is vital for new generation and expensive warplanes such as the F-35.
Explaining that they started to produce RAM paint as a joint project of Aselsan - Hacettepe as a partnership of Aselsan - Hacettepe, they have been working for ten years and have been producing radar absorbing paint jointly for 9 years, Aydın said that a submarine that is in the inventory of the Naval Forces Command and painted with RAM paint is within 300 meters of the submarine that is not painted with RAM paint. He underlined that he came so unnoticed. Aydın pointed out that submarines without RAM can see each other at an average distance of 4-5 nautical miles.
Aydın, who stated that after producing this high-tech product, which the governments in the world have strictly controlled and limited its sale to other countries, with Aselsan, in the field tests carried out after various applications, it was documented that the products have very high performances. It has increased Turkey's war power many times over," he said.
Source : newsahval
Günceleme: 28/10/2013 21:09
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