Turkey has become the fourth country in the world to indigenously manufacture fifth-generation fighter aircraft following the successful maiden flight of its domestically produced fighter jet, KAAN.
Turkey has now joined the list of USA, Russia and China in independently manufacturing fifth-generation fighter aircraft. Turkey’s efforts to acquire a fifth-generation fighter have seen significant advancement due to the procurement of S-400 air defense systems from Russia.
In 2019, Turkey was expelled from the US-led F-35 program. In a statement on Wednesday, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) announced the successful maiden flight of KAAN.
The aircraft can be seen taking off, flying, and landing at Akinci Air Base in a video posted on social media. According to the CEO of Turkish Aerospace Industries, Temel Kotil, the aircraft reached an impressive height of 8,000 feet during its 13-minute long flight.