Pakistan is about to become a partner in Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter KAAN program

Yaşar Güler, Turkey’s Minister of National Defense, announced that Pakistan is about to sign an agreement to participate in the development of the Turkish fifth-generation fighter designated KAAN.

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Responding to questions from journalists, Turkish Minister of National Defense Yaşar Güler maintained that «they did not give us the F-35. This encouraged us to build our own aircraft. In a way, they did us a favor. We also produce Kaan. Friendly and brotherly countries are also making efforts to become partners in this project. An agreement was signed with Azerbaijan. There are other countries that are also about to sign like Pakistan. They will also come.»

https://twitter.com/yasargulertc/status/1690805403481686019?s=20

If the Turkish Defense Minister’s prediction comes true, Pakistan would become the second foreign partner of the TF-X KAAN program after Azerbaijan, which signed its participation during the 16th International Defense Industry Fair, IDEF 2023.

See also: Azerbaijan tested prototype of its first Su-25 ML “Frogfoot”, modernized in Turkey

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At IDEF 2023, a Pakistani delegation also signed a contract with Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to manufacture different parts and subsystems of the KAAN fighter and Turkish UCAVs in Pakistan. This agreement could be considered the prelude to Pakistan’s formal entry into the TF-X KAAN program.

The first KAAN prototype was assembled in April 2022 and unveiled in January 2023, with its first runway taxi test on March 16, 2023.

KAAN, Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter jet

Under the MMU program (Turkish acronym for National Combat Aircraft and formerly known as TF-X), Turkey embarked on a program to develop a 5th generation fighter, intended to replace the Turkish Air Force’s (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) F-16s from 2030/35.

Designed with an emphasis on air-to-air missions, the KAAN will be a multi-role stealth fighter, which will also be able to perform air-to-surface missions.

Turkish Aerospace (TUSAS), Turkey’s top aerospace company and leader in the development of the MMU program, announced that the first flight of the Turkish 5th generation KAAN stealth fighter aircraft will take place on December 27, 2023.

Production of 3 MMU Block 0 prototypes is scheduled to be completed by the end of 2026. From 2029, it is intended to start production activities of the MMU Block I configuration and deliver the first 10 Block I units to the Turkish Air Force.