MILITARY - JAKARTA- The Turkish government has announced a breakthrough in military weaponry, particularly fighter aircraft.
This North Atlantic Defense Alliance NATO member country announced that it has successfully tested a fifth-generation fighter aircraft, dubbed the Turkish KAAN.
F-22 Raptor and F-35 Lightning II were produced by Lockheed Martin United States. Then there is the Su-57 produced by Sukhoi Russia.
Meanwhile, China has two fifth-generation flagship fighter aircraft, the J-20 produced by Chengdu Aircraft Company China, and the FC-31 produced by the Aviation Industry Corporation of China (AVIC).
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the successful flight of this Turkish fighter aircraft as a proud day for the Turkish defense industry.
"Our national fighter aircraft, KAAN, successfully made its first flight this morning," Erdogan said.
With this success, Turkey has passed an important stage in its journey to independently produce a fifth-generation fighter aircraft.
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Erdogan stated that he would intensify efforts to immediately complete another test for the flight, which inspires confidence in friends and fear in enemies.
Quoting Reuters, the Turkish KAAN, the first national fighter aircraft production for Turkey. This aircraft completed its first flight on Wednesday, as part of the country's efforts to boost its air force.
Turkey, a NATO member, launched the TF-X project to produce national fighter aircraft in 2016.
Turkish aerospace company TUSAS signed a deal with BAE Systems UK worth US$ 125 million in 2017 to develop the next-generation fighter jet.
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Haluk Gorgun, head of the Turkish Defense Industry Directorate (SSB), said in a post on social media platform X that with KAAN, Turkey will not only have a fifth-generation fighter jet but also technology that only a few countries in the world have.
This new fighter jet will initially be powered by two General Electric, F-110 engines, which are also used on the fourth-generation Lockheed Martin F-16 jet.
Turkey uses domestically produced engines on KAAN in serial production. This aircraft is expected to start mass production in 2028.
Turkey recently secured a deal to buy 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits for existing F-16s from the United States, after a long-delayed process.
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The United States once imposed sanctions on the Turkish defense industry, a NATO member, in December 2020 because the country acquired the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
The United States also expelled Ankara from the F-35 stealth fighter jet program, where Turkey was a producer and buyer.
In addition, Turkey is also interested in buying 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, which are built by a consortium of Germany, the UK, Italy, and Spain, represented by Airbus, BAE Systems, and Leonardo.
