ISTANBUL — Turkey’s first locally made combat aircraft, dubbed Kaan, accomplished its maiden flight at Akinci Airforce Base near Ankara on Wednesday.
The CEO of manufacturer TUSAŞ, Temel Kotil, tweeted that the primary flight took 13 minutes. The aircraft registered a speed of 230 knots and reached an altitude of 8,000 feet, in line with Kotil.
Turkey initiated the combat aircraft development program in December 2010. A conceptual design contract was signed between SSM and TUSAŞ in August 2011. A development contract followed in August 2016.
This system goals to field a fifth-generation combat aircraft to satisfy Turkish Air Force requirements beyond 2030s, replacing the country’s F-16 fleet. Turkey goals to turn out to be one in all the few countries possessing your entire value chain for making advanced combat aircraft, covering all the things from technology, infrastructure, human resources and manufacturing capabilities.
With a wingspan of 14m (46ft) and length of 21m (69ft), Kaan is supplied with two engines. The prototype is powered by two General Electric F110-GE-129 turbofan engines, that are planned to be utilized in early production batches as well. Turkey is now working on the event of an indigenous turbofan engine for the Kaan by TRMotor.
The fighter program is planned to include many of the characteristics of a regular fifth-generation aircraft, similar to low observability, internal weapon bays, sensor fusion, advanced datalinks and communications systems. The aircraft are expected to be in service until the 2070s.
The present contract covers the initial 4 years of this system, which might be concluded with the completion of the preliminary design phase. Until then, further testing and technology maturation activities are on the schedule.
Cem Devrim Yaylali is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News. He’s 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’s married with one son.