Turkey Celebrates Successful Maiden Flight of “Kaan” Fifth-Generation Fighter Jet

The new fighter is initially expected to be powered by engines produced by General Electric, model F-110, withplans to produce its own engines in the coming years.

These engines are also used in fourth-generation American fighter jets such as the F-16, produced by Lockheed Martin.

” المقاتله التركيه KAAN تحلق لأول مره في المساء”
.
” اليوم تمت أول التجارب للمقاتله التركيه الشبحيه كان على التحليق والهبوط
.
” هذه التجربه ضمن سلسلة تجارب ستستمر بضعة سنوات قبل أن يبدء الانتاج التسلسلي
.
وبهذا تكون تركيا ضمن الدول القليله في العالم التي تصنع مقاتلات شبحيه. pic.twitter.com/G2LCKWrqDn

— Dr.mehmet canbekli (@Mehmetcanbekli1) February 21, 2024

Statements by Erdogan about the Kaan aircraft

“Kaan,” the first domestically manufactured Turkish fighter jet, successfully completed its maiden flight, according to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who announced it on his social media accounts.

Erdogan emphasized in a speech delivered at a public gathering in the province of Afyonkarahisar, western Turkey, that his country has accomplished a “highly significant” stage in producing fifth-generation fighter jets.

The Turkish president said, “With the successful first flight of our national combat aircraft Kaan today, we have experienced one of the days of pride for the Turkish defense industries.”

Erdogan added that Turkey has “successfully surpassed a highly significant stage on the path to producing its fifth-generation fighter jets.”

Bugün Türk savunma sanayisinin gurur günlerinden birini daha yaşadık. 🇹🇷

Millî muharip uçağımız Kaan, bu sabah ilk uçuşunu başarıyla gerçekleştirdi.

Böylece Türkiye, kendi 5’inci nesil savaş uçağını üretme yolunda çok kritik bir aşamayı daha geride bıraktı.… pic.twitter.com/UKJe0EnmDF

— Recep Tayyip Erdoğan (@RTErdogan) February 21, 2024

One account on the “X” platform published footage from the aircraft’s first flight, captioned: “Not even in the imagination of the Republican People’s Party could this happen… We did it.”

Turkish Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya also shared footage of the Turkish fighter jet, affirming that it is a dream that has long been awaited, stating, “Sail freely until the end of the blue color; as long as people live in a world of fantasy… and thank God, our reality exceeds our dreams.”

First flight

The Turkish Aerospace Industries Corporation broadcasted a video showing the fighter jet taking off and returning to an airbase in northern Ankara.

Regarding the prominent features of the new aircraft, the President of the Turkish Defense Industries Authority, Ismail Demir, explained in a tweet on the “X” platform that the Kaan aircraft possesses technologies available only in a few countries worldwide.

CHP’liler hayal bile edemezdi. Biz yaptık. #KAAN pic.twitter.com/5N0sZN3ePM

— Marginale (@themarginale) February 21, 2024

Demir added that Turkey aims to produce domestically manufactured engines to operate the Kaan fighter jet, with production expected to begin in 2028.

Turkey launched the TF-X project in 2016 to produce domestically manufactured fighter aircraft, and in 2017, the Turkish Aerospace Industries Corporation signed a deal worth $125 million with the British company BAE Systems to produce next-generation fighter jets.

“Yürü hür maviliğin bittiği son hadde kadar;
İnsan âlemde hayal ettiği müddetçe yaşar…”

Bu; büyük bir Milletin semalara uzanan büyük bir hayaliydi.

Hamd olsun, Cumhurbaşkanımız Sayın @RTErdogan’ın liderliğinde gerçeklerimiz hayallerimizi aşıyor.

Bu ses #KAAN’ın sesi🇹🇷
Bu ses… pic.twitter.com/KbQeqJXyzY

— Ali Yerlikaya (@AliYerlikaya) February 21, 2024

In recent months, after a long delay, Ankara has concluded a deal to purchase 40 F-16 fighter jets from the United States, in addition to 79 units of upgrade equipment for its current fleet of F-16 fighter jets.

It is worth mentioning that Washington had excluded Turkey from the F-35 fighter jet program – in which Ankara was both a manufacturer and a buyer – in 2020, citing Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.

Türkiye’nin milli muharip uçağı KAAN ilk uçuşunu gerçekleştirdi https://t.co/0Fa13P8m6d

— AA Canlı (@AACanli) February 21, 2024

It is expected that this Turkish fighter jet will compete with the American F-35, as affirmed by many Turkish and Arab observers.