The National Combat Aircraft (MMU), Turkey’s long-awaited 5th generation fighter jet, will make its first flight in 2025, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said on Thursday.

Turkey’s first indigenous combat aircraft will emerge from the hangar in 2023, he said at a mass opening ceremony of 16 factories that will operate in the Space and Aerospace Industry Zone in the capital Ankara, an engineering hub for manufacturing the groundbreaking jet fighter.

"It will take its place in the skies in 2029 as the strike force of the Turkish Air Force, after successfully completing its test procedures," said Erdoğan.

Some 2,300 engineers involved in the project will carry out their work at this hub, Erdoğan stressed.

Turkey is among the elite club of the 10 countries in the world that can design and build their own warships and is also among the top three drone producers, Erdoğan said.

Touting the growth of Turkey’s defense industry over the last two decades under the rule of his Justice and Development Party (AK Party), Erdoğan said the number of its defense industry projects have topped 750.

Erdoğan said their budget also jumped to $75 billion and annual turnover rose to $10 billion.