As the KAAN inches closer to its expected introduction, additional potential foreign client states may also line up to acquire the new platform.
While the US Air Force’s Next-Generation Air Dominance (NGAD) program appears to monopolize headlines concerning futuristic fighters, other nations are simultaneously fielding their own advanced jet endeavors. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) has been working to introduce its fifth-generation KAAN fighter series by 2032. According to the head of the company, the momentum on designing a homegrown engine for the upcoming fighter is rising. According to Mehmet Demiroğlu, general manager at TAI, construction of the new TF35000 turbofan engine is well underway. Demiroglu noted that the engine’s “conceptual design is almost done and then it will go to initial prototyping maybe by the end of the year.” The eventual introduction of the KAAN will elevate Turkey’s domestic manufacturing capacity.
What We Know About the KAAN
Turkey’s trajectory to fielding a homegrown fifth-gen fighter platform reached a major milestone last year, when the TAI Kaan embarked on its first flight. The fighter prototype was conceptualized in the early 2000s, after Ankara’s Defense Industry Executive Committee opted to design, construct, and introduce a homegrown air-superiority jet series. Initially, Turkish officials envisioned a domestic fighter flying alongside a fleet of F-35 Joint Strike jets. However, Turkey was dismissed from the Lightning II’s nine-nation codevelopment group after refusing to comply with America’s prohibitions surrounding the Russian-made S-400 defense system.
Like many upcoming jet platforms, the Turkish KAAN program remains highly under wraps. State-run media outlets and other analysts have speculated, however, that the new platform could be on par capability-wise with its foreign fifth-generation counterparts. Specifically, reports indicate that the KAAN could be equipped with a range of sophisticated capabilities, ranging from networked drone control and steal to ground attack functions and increased internal weapons storage.
According to Simple Flying, the KAAN’s premiere flight was notable. The Turkish prototype reportedly flew at a top speed of roughly 255 miles per hour reaching an altitude of 8,000 feet. On the jet’s second flight, the aircraft apparently exceeded its initial performance, reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet. At the beginning of TAI’s design phase, Ankara actually submitted a request to the Pentagon for joint production of the General Electric F110 engine, which also powers the Fighting Falcon. Turkish officials later indicated that their long-term plan is to replace these engines with domestically produced alternatives. The TF35000 will likely fulfill this requirement once the engine completes its testing phases. As detailed by Army Recognition, “Designed with an emphasis on delivering 35,000 pounds of thrust, the engine incorporates advanced aerospace engineering features including high-temperature-resistant superalloys, advanced thermal barrier coatings, and innovative cooling technologies.”
The KAAN fighter is already garnering the attention of foreign nations interested in building their own fifth-gen fleets. Earlier this month, Indonesia finalized a deal with Turkey to procure 48 of these fighters down the line. As the KAAN inches closer to its expected introduction date, additional potential foreign client states may also line up to acquire the new platform. Regardless of the KAAN’s suspected specs and capabilities, until the jet is introduced to service and carries out combat time, its true prowess cannot be confirmed.
About the Author: Maya Carlin
Maya Carlin, National Security Writer with The National Interest, is an analyst with the Center for Security Policy and a former Anna Sobol Levy Fellow at IDC Herzliya in Israel. She has by-lines in many publications, including The National Interest, Jerusalem Post, and Times of Israel. You can follow her on Twitter: @MayaCarlin. Carlin has over 1,000 articles published over the last several years on various defense issues.
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