TP-150, a "Made-in-Vietnam" aircraft, is on display at the 100,000sq.m area of the Vietnam International Defence Expo 2024, drawing significant attention from visitors.

TP-150, a "Made-in-Vietnam" aircraft, is on display at the 100,000sq.m area of the Vietnam International Defence Expo 2024, drawing significant attention from visitors.

According to Nguyen Hoai Nam, one of the three founding members behind the idea of this aircraft, TP-150 is the first to be produced in Vietnam by a Vietnamese company. It is a basic training and patrol aircraft for military use.

TP-150, equipped with a 150-horsepower engine, can fly at nearly 300km/h continuously for 6.5 hours (with an auxiliary fuel tank) and execute complex aerobatic manoeuvres and formation demonstrations. When supplemented with equipment like infrared cameras and synthetic aperture radar, it can perform border patrol or coastal surveillance missions.

The aircraft, a result of a joint venture between Italy and Vietnam, was designed by Italian company Flying Legend and produced at a factory in Vinh Phuc province. It is designed and built to meet EASA CS-VLA and FAA Experimental Aircraft standards, as well as military specifications. TP-150 marks the first step in Vietnam’s aircraft manufacturing industry.

Tran Hai Dang, Chairman of Flying Legend Vietnam, said that from a young age, he had been connected to previous generations, predominantly comprised of pilots and aircraft engineers, including his father - a helicopter pilot in the Vietnamese Air Defence - Air Force.

After nearly three decades of working in the industry, he had accumulated extensive experience in aircraft maintenance, repair, design, and pilot training. Consequently, he, at the age of 50, and his colleagues decided to produce the TP-150 training and patrol aircraft.

Nam said that the TP-150 is a primary training and patrol aircraft designed for military pilot training and potentially applicable to civil aviation.

The aircraft was designed by Italian engineers. Its engine, propeller, and electronic components originate from Western countries, while the remaining structural elements, including fuselage, wings, landing gear, and accessories, were entirely manufactured and assembled at Flying Legend Vietnam’s factory in Vinh Phuc province.

The aircraft producer believed that this project will contribute to the recently enacted Law on Defence, Security Industries and Industrial Mobilisation, while the Flying Legend Vietnam will become an example of a private enterprise involved in Vietnam’s defence industry./.