In a landmark moment for Turkish aerospace, its first locally made combat aircraft, the KAAN fighter, completed its maiden flight at the Akinci air base, near Ankara.
On the surface, the 13-minute flight might seem like a tame effort, but it is a huge step in the country's efforts to upgrade its air force.
Turkey is aiming to become one of the few countries possessing the entire value chain for making advanced combat aircraft, covering everything from technology, infrastructure, human resources and manufacturing capabilities.
A landmark moment for Turkish military aerospace.
The maiden flight of the Khan fighter, the country's first homegrown warplane and fifth
generation jet. On the face of it the relatively gentle 13 minute flight might seem tame,
but it's a huge step in the country's efforts to upgrade its own air force.
The stealth twin-engined all-weather air superiority fighter is being produced by
the state-owned Turkish Aerospace Industries, with British multinational BAE Systems acting
as a subcontractor. Turkey has prioritised developing domestically made combat aircraft
since 2010, with Turkish Aerospace Industries focusing much of its early efforts into producing
a successful range of drones and unmanned aircraft. It has branched out into helicopters
as well, with the Advanced Attack 2 expected to go into service with the Turkish military
as early as next year. The Khan has more than a passing resemblance to the F-35,
and perhaps that's no surprise. Turkey was originally part of the US-led Joint Strike
Fighter programme, but it was booted out in 2019 following the decision to buy Russian-made S-400
missile defence systems. Washington was worried a crossover could compromise the F-35's sensitive
stealth technology. The advanced jet will eventually replace Turkey's fleet of ageing F-16s,
but in the meantime, Turkey has been looking into fourth-generation options as a stopgap.
The US has agreed to sell Turkey 40 new F-16s and also help modernise 80 more of the existing
warplanes. Turkey is also looking at buying 40 Eurofighter Typhoons to help upgrade its
current options. Two of the three Typhoon partner nations, the UK and Spain, are willing to sell
aircraft to Ankara, but Germany are so far reluctant. All the more reason then for Turkey
to push ahead with developing its own military aircraft. The new jet is still at least a decade
away from appearing in meaningful numbers with the Turkish Air Force, and perhaps longer still
before it becomes marketable to foreign buyers. But that didn't dampen celebrations at the
Khan's first flight. Richard Johnson, Forces News.
