The deputy chair of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) announced his party’s full support for the acquisition of fighter jets abroad and the development of local aircraft Kaan. Statements by Yankı Bağcıoğlu at a news conference on Monday demonstrated how the administration of CHP, whose supporters often mock defense projects on social media, differed from voters.
Bağcıoğlu singled out Kaan, whose parts were likened to a “radiator” by pro-CHP social media accounts in the past, for the praise. “The national fighter jet Kaan is a symbol of our technological independence. We support all efforts to develop it,” Bağcıoğlu, a retired admiral, said at the news conference in Ankara.
Kaan is a fifth-generation warplane that Türkiye has worked on for almost a decade. The jet was first publicly unveiled in 2023 before it performed its maiden test flight in early 2024. Its serial production is expected to begin in 2028.
Bağcıoğlu said that developments in the region escalated the level of risks and threats against Türkiye. “The path to peace is through efficient deterrence. We have no time or cash to waste in the defense industry,” he said.
Speaking on Türkiye’s deal with the United Kingdom for the purchase of 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, Bağcıoğlu said the CHP also supported this move and called for a fast conclusion to the process. The deal signed in October deepens the NATO allies' ties and bolsters the air defenses of Türkiye, which is seeking to leverage the advanced jets to make up ground with regional rivals such as Israel, which has unleashed strikes across the Middle East this year.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hailed the Eurofighter deal, signed in Ankara during British Prime Minister Keir Starmer's first visit to the country, as "a new symbol of the strategic relationship between us as two close allies." The agreement is worth 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion) and covers 20 Eurofighter jets that Türkiye will buy from the U.K.
It marks the first new order of U.K. Typhoons since 2017 and the "biggest fighter jet deal in a generation," Britain's Defense Ministry said.
London said Ankara would receive the first of the batch of Typhoons in 2030. Starmer said the deal, for which talks began in 2023, provides the option for the sale of more jets in the future.
Bağcıoğlu also called for a faster process to commissioning the unmanned aerial vehicle ANKA-III and Kızılelma, an unmanned combat aircraft.
