Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter plane takes off for maiden flight

ISTANBUL — Turkey’s first locally made combat aircraft, dubbed Kaan , completed its maiden flight at the Akinci air base near Ankara on Wednesday.

The CEO of manufacturer Turkish Aerospace Industries, Temel Kotil, tweeted that the first flight took 13 minutes. The aircraft registered a speed of 230 knots and reached an altitude of 8,000 feet, he added.

Turkey initiated the combat aircraft development program in December 2010. A conceptual design contract was signed between the government and the company in August 2011. A development contract followed in August 2016.

The program aims to field a fifth-generation combat aircraft to meet Turkish Air Force requirements beyond 2030s, replacing the country’s F-16 fleet. Turkey aims to become one of the few countries possessing the entire value chain for making advanced combat aircraft, covering everything from technology, infrastructure, human resources and manufacturing capabilities.

With a wingspan of about 46 feet and length of 69 feet, the Kaan is equipped with two engines. The prototype is powered by two General Electric-made F110-GE-129 turbofan engines, which are to be used in early production batches. Turkey is now working on the development of an indigenous turbofan engine for the Kaan by local company TRMotor.

The fighter program is expected to incorporate most of the characteristics of a standard fifth-generation aircraft, such as low observability, internal weapons bays, sensor fusion, advanced data links and communications systems. The aircraft are to be in service until the 2070s.

The current contract covers the initial four years of the program, which will be concluded with the completion of the preliminary design phase. Until then, further testing and technology maturation activities are on the schedule.

In December 2022, the head of TAI said the initial delivery of Kaan was scheduled for 2028. After 2029, the aim is to produce two jets per month, totally 24 jets per year.

The jet that flew Wednesday was a ground test unit. Now, the manufacturer will make five more prototypes, for which the government bought 10 F110 engines.

In a TV interview last week, the Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, expressed interest in the aircraft.

Cem Devrim Yaylali is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News. He is a keen photographer of military ships and has a passion for writing about naval and defense issues. He was born in Paris, France, and resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He is married with one son.

Tayfun Ozberk is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News.

伊斯坦布尔——土耳其首架国产战斗机“卡安”于周三在安卡拉附近的阿金奇空军基地完成了首飞。

土耳其航空航天工业公司首席执行官特梅尔·科蒂尔在推特上表示，首飞耗时13分钟。他还补充说，飞机速度达到230节，飞行高度达到8000英尺。

土耳其于 2010 年 12 月启动了战斗机研发计划。2011 年 8 月，政府与该公司签署了概念设计合同。2016 年 8 月，又签署了研发合同。

该项目旨在研发一款第五代战斗机，以满足土耳其空军2030年代以后的需求，并取代该国现有的F-16机队。土耳其的目标是成为少数几个拥有先进战斗机完整价值链的国家之一，涵盖技术、基础设施、人力资源和制造能力等各个方面。

Kaan飞机翼展约46英尺，机身长69英尺，配备两台发动机。原型机采用两台通用电气公司生产的F110-GE-129涡扇发动机，早期生产批次也将使用该发动机。目前，土耳其正委托本土公司TRMotor为Kaan飞机研发国产涡扇发动机。

该战斗机项目预计将融合第五代标准战机的大部分特性，例如低可探测性、内置武器舱、传感器融合、先进数据链和通信系统。该型战机将服役至2070年代。

目前的合同涵盖该项目的前四年，该合同将在初步设计阶段完成后终止。在此之前，还将开展进一步的测试和技术成熟度提升活动。

2022 年 12 月，TAI 的负责人表示，Kaan 的首架交付计划于 2028 年进行。2029 年后，目标是每月生产两架飞机，每年总共生产 24 架飞机。

周三试飞的那架喷气式飞机是地面测试机。现在，制造商将再制造五架原型机，为此政府购买了10台F110发动机。

上周，乌克兰驻土耳其大使瓦西里·博德纳尔在接受电视采访时表示对这架飞机很感兴趣。

杰姆·德夫里姆·亚伊拉利是《防务新闻》驻土耳其记者。他热衷于拍摄军舰，并对海军和国防议题充满热情。他出生于法国巴黎，现居土耳其伊斯坦布尔。他已婚，育有一子。

Tayfun Ozberk 是《防务新闻》驻土耳其记者。