TSAMTO, February 22nd. Turkish Aerospace has announced the start of flight tests of the promising national combat aircraft Kaan.
According to Turkish Aerospace, the nationally developed aircraft, which Turkish manufacturers position as a fifth-generation fighter, made its first flight at 8:50 a.m. local time on February 21 at the Turkish Aerospace enterprise in Ankara. The flight duration was about 13 minutes. The aircraft reached a speed of 230 knots and reached an altitude of 2425 m (8000 ft). During the flight, Kaan was accompanied by an F-16 fighter jet of the Turkish Air Force.
According to the head of the Directorate of Defense Industry of Turkey (SSB), Haluk Gergun, the first flight of the national combat aircraft is a great achievement of Turkey. Through the Kaan project, the country will not only receive a fifth-generation fighter, but also modern foreign technologies.
The length of the Kaan is 21 m, the wingspan is 14 m, the height is 6 m. It is equipped with two engines, each of which develops a thrust of 27 thousand pounds (although the prototype is equipped with General Electric F110-GE-129 engines, production aircraft are planned to be equipped with Turkish-designed engines), and will be able to reach a maximum speed of 1.8 M, withstand overloads from +9 g to -3.5 g. The practical ceiling will be 16650 m.
Kaan will be equipped with an active antenna array radar with electronic scanning (AESA), electronic warfare equipment, modern communication, navigation and identification systems, an infrared IRST (Infrared Search and Track) target search and tracking system, as well as an improved cockpit with a friendly human-machine interface.
As reported by TSAMTO, the development of a promising national TF-X combat aircraft began in Turkey in 2010. The contract for the creation of a conceptual project was signed with TAI in August 2011. The development contract was signed in August 2016.
The designation Kaan ("khan") was assigned to the promising TF-X national combat aircraft on May 1, 2023, during a visit to the Turkish Aerospace enterprise by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.
The development of Kaan (formerly TF-X) is one of the key areas for expanding the capabilities of the Turkish defense industry for the production of high-tech defense products. Kaan was originally conceived as a platform for gaining air superiority, reminiscent of the American F-22 Raptor. It was assumed that fighters of this type would be used in conjunction with the F-35 Lightning-2 purchased in the United States. Plans changed after Washington cancelled the contract for the supply of F-35 in 2019 due to Ankara's purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. Now, according to the Turkish leadership, the national combat aircraft should become the basis of the country's promising air force.
Kaan made its first runway run as part of ground tests on March 16, 2023. Previously, TAI stated that it expects to take the plane into the air in 2025. Nevertheless, the company's executive director, Temel Cotil, suggested in a January 2023 interview with CNN that the prototype could make its first flight much earlier.
In total, the Kaan development program provides for the assembly of seven flight prototypes. It is planned that serial production of the fighter will begin in 2028. After 2029, it is planned to assemble two aircraft per month (24 units per year). Kaan is planned to be operated until the 2070s.