Turkey's First Fifth-Gen Combat Aircraft 'Kaan' Takes First Flight

Defense News ,Turkey :- Turkey achieved a significant milestone as its first locally-made combat aircraft, named Kaan, successfully completed its first flight at Akinci Airforce Base near Ankara on Wednesday.

The CEO of the manufacturing company, TUSAŞ, Temel Kotil, shared on Twitter that the inaugural flight lasted 13 minutes. During this time, the aircraft reached a speed of 230 knots and an altitude of 8,000 feet.

The journey to develop this combat aircraft began in December 2010, with the signing of a conceptual design contract between SSM and TUSAŞ in August 2011. Subsequently, a development contract was inked in August 2016.

The primary objective of this program is to introduce a fifth-generation combat aircraft that will fulfill the Turkish Air Force's requirements well into the 2030s, ultimately replacing the existing F-16 fleet. Turkey aspires to establish itself among the select few nations possessing a complete value chain for the production of advanced combat aircraft, encompassing technology, infrastructure, human resources, and manufacturing capabilities.

The Kaan, with a wingspan of 14m (46ft) and a length of 21m (69ft), is powered by two General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofan engines in its prototype, which are also intended for early production batches. Turkey is concurrently working on developing an indigenous turbofan engine for the Kaan through TRMotor.

This fighter program is designed to incorporate key features of a standard fifth-generation aircraft, including low observability, internal weapon bays, sensor fusion, advanced datalinks, and communication systems. The expectation is for these aircraft to remain in service until the 2070s.

The ongoing contract spans the initial four years of the program, concluding with the completion of the preliminary design phase. Meanwhile, additional testing and technology maturation activities are in progress until this phase is completed.