KAAN's Fifth Generation Fighter Jet Made In Turkey Successfully Airs, Equipped With AI To New Generation Weapons

Turkish KAAN fighter jet. (Twitter/@TUSAS_TR)

Turkey has again showcased its success in the defense industry, particularly the air dimension, with the first generation of domestically made fighter jets successfully airborne, as Ankara continues to strive to increase its air force and reduce its dependence on overseas.

Named KAAN, the fifth-generation fighter took off in the early hours of Wednesday and then took off, before returning to the air base north of Ankara, according to a video shared by its developer, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

Enthusiastic to welcome this development, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the flight marked the Turkish defense industry's "important mine".

"We have had one proud day for the Turkish defense industry. Our homemade fighter, KAAN, successfully completed its first flight today. Turkey has crossed another important threshold in producing fifth-generation fighter jets," President Erdogan said, launching Daily Sabah on February 21.

The President added that Turkish-made warplanes continued to fly into space despite "people who indifferently compared their parts and those who tried to "bobotage" the project.

Turkey launched the TF-X project to produce national warplanes in 2016. TAI signed a deal with UK BAE Systems worth $125 million in 2017 to develop next-generation fighter jets.

Meanwhile, Temel Kotil, TAI's head, said KAAN remained in the air for 13 minutes and reached a speed of 230 knots at an altitude of 8,000 feet.

"Turkey's steel wing in the sky," wrote Minister of Industry and Technology Mehmet Fatih Kacryptor in a post on social media platform X.

"With KAAN, our country will not only have fifth-generation fighter jets but also technology that few countries in the world have," wrote Haluk Görgön, head of the Presidency of the Defense Industry (SSB) on social media X.

Previously, engineers tested KAAN seat launchers, full-length static tests, control surface static tests, landing wheel tests, avionic system tests, fuel tests, engine lighting tests and taxiting tests.

Launched publicly last year, the jet is considered Turkey's most ambitious project to date. The fighter jet made its runway debut and completed its first taxi test after starting its engine for the first time in mid-March last year.

KAAN has the ability to carry out air-to-air combat with new generation weapons and precision attacks from internal weapons, while its supersonic speed will provide increased combat strength with artificial intelligence and neural network support.

The jet will make Turkey one of the few countries that have infrastructure and technology, to produce fifth-generation fighter aircraft.