Turkey’s new 5th generation fighter, the KAAN (TF-X), successfully completed its 2nd test flight this morning, remaining airborne for 14 minutes, reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet (3,000 metres) and a speed of 30 knots before returning to the ground, Turkey’s Defence Industries Board (SSB) confirmed on Monday. It is the second flight test after the maiden flight conducted last February.
The KAAN fighter jet is Turkey’s main bid to produce a domestically produced 5th generation combat aircraft. The project was launched in 2016 and continued a year later with a $125m deal between Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) and British BAE Systems to develop the fighter, which in 2023 conducted its first runway tests.
Capable of carrying out precision air-to-air and air-to-ground strikes with state-of-the-art weaponry, the new Turkish KAAN fighter is AI-assisted and is scheduled to go into series production over the next decade to gradually replace the F-16s that make up the bulk of the Turkish Air Force’s fleet, making Turkey one of the few countries in the world with the capability and technology to produce 5th generation fighters. Other specifications of the aircraft are:
- maximum cruise speed: Mach 1.8
- maximum altitude: 55,000 feet (16,800 metres)
- power limits: +9g/-3.5g
- internal weapons bay
- supersonic speed
- low radar detectability
- multi-purpose profile
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Edited and reviewed by:
Pablo Gómez is a specialist in Turkey and has been editor-in-chief of Hispanatolia since 2011. He has been analysing current affairs and geopolitics in Turkey and the surrounding region since 2006.
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