Türkiye's homegrown fighter jet has completed its second flight, authorities said on Monday, marking another milestone in the country's endeavor to upgrade its air force and curb external dependency.
KAAN took off early on Monday and managed to stay in the air for 14 minutes, reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet and a speed of 230 knots, according to a statement by the Presidency of Defense Industries (SSB).
It performed its maiden flight on Feb. 21.
"Today, we witnessed another significant day in Turkish aviation history and Turkish defense history," said SSB head Haluk Görgün, as he convened with test pilots and the project team.
"This flight, like the first, was very successful. The data obtained in this flight will be evaluated by the entire team, and preparations for the next flights will continue," Görgün noted.
NATO member Türkiye launched its TF-X project to produce a national combat aircraft in 2016. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) signed a deal with Britain's BAE Systems worth $125 million in 2017 to develop the next-generation fighter jet.
Unveiled publicly last year, KAAN is regarded as Türkiye's most ambitious project to date. The warplane made a runway debut and completed its first taxi test after starting its engines for the first time in mid-March last year.
It is sought to replace the Air Forces Command's aging F-16 fleet, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s.
KAAN will initially be powered by two General Electric F-110 engines, which are also used on fourth-generation Lockheed Martin F-16 jets.
Türkiye aims to use domestically produced engines on the jet in serial production, which is expected to start in 2028.
The aircraft will be capable of air-to-air combat with new-generation weapons and precision strikes from internal weapon bays at supersonic speed and w. It will also provide increased combat power with artificial intelligence and neural network support.
The jet will make Türkiye one of the few countries with the infrastructure and technology to produce a fifth-generation combat aircraft.
Technical specifications of KAAN, in its newly painted appearance, include:
