Turkey's new stealth fighter TAI KAAN takes off for the first time. Photo via TAI.
Almost a year after its first ground tests, Turkey's 5th generation fighter, the KAAN, made its first flight this Wednesday morning (21). The stealth aircraft ('invisible' to radars') made a short flight of just 13 minutes, accompanied by a F-16D Fighting Falcon fighter which acted as a flirtatious plane. Also called the National Combat Aircraft (MMU), the KAAN is designed to replace the F-16 starting in the next decade.
Formerly called TF-X, the stealth fighter project was launched by Turkey in 2010 and was largely accelerated in 2019, after the country was excluded from the North American F-35 program due to close ties with Russia. The aircraft made its roll-out in March 2023 and its first flight was scheduled for December of the same year, but ended up being postponed.
“With KAAN, our country will not only have a fifth generation fighter jet, but also technologies that few countries in the world have”, said Haluk Gorgun, head of Turkey's Defense Industries Board (SSB), in a post on social media platform X.
KAAN's first flight was also celebrated by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who said the country “has left behind another very critical phase on the path to producing its own 5th generation warplane.”
“Despite the self-confident people who said “I can’t do it”, the indigestible people who said “the part looks like a radiator”, and the collaborators who tried to sabotage the Kaan project from the very beginning, our national combat aircraft took to the skies today, thank God", celebrated Erdogan for the X.
Manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the KAAN uses a pair of F110-GE-129 engines from General Electric of the United States, the same used by the F-16. The F110s, however, will only be used in prototypes or early production models, as Turkey is developing a more powerful and advanced engine for the fighter.
TAI KAAN (MMU) is the first fighter designed in Türkiye. 5th generation stealth aircraft should fly in 2023. Photo via @AceJaceu.
The MMU is around 21 meters long, 14m wide and 6m high, with the capacity to reach 2400 km/h (Mach 2.2) at high altitude. The aircraft will also have supercruise, that is, it will be able to reach lower supersonic speeds without the use of afterburner, increasing its autonomy. Its program is considered the most ambitious among Turkey's defense projects, which has sought greater independence in this sector.
The country has invested in the local development of weapons, planes, helicopters and especially drones, having presented two important models in recent years. At the end of last year ANKA 3 completed its first flight and in 2022 the Bayraktar Kızılelma conquered the skies. Although they are developed by different companies, both models are combat drones that are expected to fly alongside the KAAN as collaborative aircraft.
Do you want to receive our news firsthand? Click Here and be part of our Group on Whatsapp or Telegram.
