Turkey’s leading aerospace company, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), confirmed that it is advancing the assembly of two new prototypes of the fifth-generation TF-X KAAN fighter that will equip the country’s Air Force. These are currently in an advanced phase of systems integration on the company’s final assembly line in Ankara. According to company executives, the first flights are scheduled for April and May 2026.
TAI General Manager Mehmet Demiroglu stated that these flights will mark “the beginning of intensive flight tests.” The new prototypes will incorporate most of the mission systems planned for the operational aircraft, unlike the first prototype P0, which carried out two flights in 2024. In total, six prototypes will be built to sustain the flight test program.
The aircraft under development are being produced on the recently completed KAAN assembly line, where large vertical sections such as the 14-meter wings, weighing 3.3 tons, and the central fuselage are manufactured. According to TAI’s presentation to international journalists, the Turkish Air Force has an initial requirement of 148 aircraft, although it was not specified whether this figure includes the 48 units committed to Indonesia.
The TF-X KAAN project began in 2010 with the goal of providing Turkey with an indigenously developed fifth-generation fighter. The model will progressively replace the F-16C/D Fighting Falcon and F-4E-2020 currently in service, with the first 20 aircraft expected to enter operations in 2029. These initial aircraft, designated Block 10, will have a limited operational envelope that will expand as the test program progresses. The Ankara plant has the capacity to produce eight aircraft per year, although expansion of the infrastructure is being considered to achieve higher-scale production.
The program, however, partly depends on foreign components. The current prototypes use General Electric F110 engines built under license, whose availability and export are subject to U.S. approval. To reduce this dependence, Turkey has initiated a domestic engine development project, with the expectation that the first test flights with these powerplants will take place in 2028.
In parallel, TAI announced that it is already assessing requirements for a future sixth-generation fighter. “We may not be the first, but we will be pioneers. TAI is in the doctoral stage of its life: doing something it has never done before,” said Demiroglu during a panel held on August 29.
Through the development of KAAN, Turkey seeks to consolidate its military aerospace industry and reduce its dependence on external defense suppliers.
*Images used for illustrative purposes.
You may also like: The Turkish Army is preparing to finally receive the first new domestically manufactured Altay T1 tanks
