Turkey has recently made a major breakthrough in the field of aviation, its self-developed fifth-generation ** fighter Kaan "Khan" successfully completed its maiden flight mission on February 21, the first flight took about 13 minutes, reached a maximum altitude of 8,000 feet, and demonstrated stable basic flight performance at a speed of 230 knots. According to social **circulation**, the "Khan" prototype used an airspeed tube during its first flight, and kept the landing gear unretracted, and the entire flight was smooth and smooth. It marks Turkey's official entry into the global fifth-generation aircraft research and development club. The TF-X fighter, named Milli Muharip UCAK (MBU), the National Combat Aircraft Project, has finally made a historic leap forward after several delays and is expected to begin gradual mass production in 2030 and replace the existing F-16 fighter fleet.
The Kaan Khan fighter has significant performance indicators: the total length of the fuselage is 21 meters, the wingspan is 14 meters, the height is 6 meters, it has a huge wing area of 60 square meters and a height of 27Maximum take-off weight of 2 tons. In terms of powertrain, it is equipped with two F110-GE-129 engines, each with a thrust of 13 tons, ensuring excellent power performance. At an altitude of 12,000 meters, the maximum flight speed of the aircraft can reach 1Mach 8, the practical ceiling is 16,700 meters, and the maximum overload range is from +9g to -35G, with a combat radius of 1,100 kilometers, is a twin-engine heavy air superiority fighter that surpasses even the size of the American F-22 Raptor fighter. The Kaan adopts an advanced dual-tail, twin-engine, single-seat layout design, with a diamond-shaped nose with a broken line combined with a Garette air intake, and the front view is similar to that of the F-22, showing the characteristics of high stealth. It is planned to build more prototypes (at least 5) for testing projects at different stages. The first deliveries are expected to be in 2028, and if all goes well, mass production deliveries will begin at a rate of two per month from 2029.
According to the manufacturer, the "Khan" fighter is equipped with a powerful avionics system and unparalleled stealth technology, which can carry various missiles of the mainstream of the West, and at the same time use its own data link and advanced network system to achieve cooperative combat capabilities with UAVs. This achievement reflects the determination and strength of Turkish military enterprises to actively cooperate with other international military giants in recent years to promote the modernization of domestic production. For example, the "Altai" main battle tank jointly produced by Turkey and South Korea's Hyundai Group and the T-155 "Storm" self-propelled artillery gun manufactured by introducing South Korea's K-9 artillery technology are important achievements in strengthening international cooperation.
It is worth mentioning that the successful first flight of the Kaan "Khan" fighter is particularly important, given that Turkey was unable to obtain F35** fighters as scheduled due to US sanctions for the purchase of Russian S400 air defense systems, which is intended to become a strategic addition to the F35 project for the Turkish Air Force. Recently, however, with the subtle changes in international relations, especially after Turkey approved Sweden's accession to NATO, the United States has adjusted its arms sales policy to Turkey. On January 26, 2024, the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) notified Congress that it plans to send Turkey **40 Lockheed Martin F-16V Block 70 Viper fighter jets and upgraded components through the Foreign Arms Sales Program (FMS), with a total contract value of about $23 billion. The sales include not only the F-16V fighter itself, but also a large number of supporting equipment such as targeting pods, advanced medium-range and short-range air-to-air missiles, anti-radiation missiles and various precision-guided bombs, etc., fully demonstrating the warming of the cooperation between the United States and Turkey.
In summary, Turkey's independent research and development of the Kaan "Khan" ** fighter and the successful completion of the first flight not only demonstrated its independent innovation ability in the aerospace field, but also reflected the development strategy of Turkey seeking to maximize its interests with a pragmatic and flexible attitude in the context of global geopolitical games. In the future, with the further maturity and improvement of the "Khan" fighter and the combination of new generation fighters such as the F-16V, Turkey will build a more solid and diversified air power system, and effectively enhance its security influence in the region and even the world.