A joint project? Turkey’s KAAN fighter program attracts Gulf interest, exec says
“There are lots of interest [from a] number of countries, but these things are taking a lot of time and high-level decisions,” Turkish Aerospace Industries General Manager Mehmet Demiroglu told Breaking Defense.
The second flight of the national combat aircraft KAAN, which was initiated by the Turkish Defence Industries Presidency (SSB) in order to meet the combat aircraft requirement of the Turkish Air Forces Command and developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), is carried out successfully in Ankara, Turkiye on May 06, 2024. (Photo by TUR Defence Industries Presidency/Anadolu via Getty Images)
IDEX 2025 — Turkey has seen “lots of interest” from foreign nations in potentially joining its next-generation fighter jet project, including from an unnamed Gulf country that is “seriously considering” joining development, a senior Turkish industry official told Breaking Defense.
As of now, Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) General Manager Mehmet Demiroglu said that the jet, known as KAAN, is under development only by Turkish companies as “there is no official [outside] participation yet.
“There are lots of interest [from a] number of countries, but these things are taking a lot of time and high-level decisions,” he said in an interview last week at the International Defense Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi. “It will be a joint program.”
Turkish media claimed in 2024 that Saudi Arabia was in talks to procure 100 KAAN fighter jets, but those reports were never confirmed by Ankara or Riyadh. (The Gulf kingdom has also expressed interest in joining competing fighter programs.)
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After the first KAAN prototype flew in 2024, Demiroglu said he expected the second and third prototypes to “be flying by the end of the year and early next year, and we’ll be heavily testing these prototypes. “
Demiroglu said that the firm plans to “shorten the testing period, because we need to do lots of testing and to be able to deliver our first production to [the] Turkish air force in 2028-2029 time frame.”
In May 2024, TAI announced that the firm will deliver 20 aircraft by 2028. Demirogu clarified that the delivery of the KAAN jets will start that year.
“I can tell [you] we didn’t change our target, but we will see. No one can guarantee that this is going to happen at [a] specified time, because the world is in a different place compared to 10 years ago,” he said.
Demiroglu added that for the firm to be able to deliver KAAN with the needed qualifications, it “need[s] to do lots of homework, and with the latest developments in computing area, testing and experience building with the Hurkus, Hurjet and other [Turkish air] platforms, we are confident that we’ll do much shorter time than normally expected,” he said comparing the KAAN development timeline to the lengthy development of the American-made F-35.
KAAN, which is described as a 5th-generation fighter jet will have 6th-generation features, Demiroglu said, adding that that the firm is working on manned-unmanned teaming concept between KAAN and Turkish UAV maker Baykar.
During IDEX, TAI displayed a model of the KAAN fighter jet alongside the Hurkus 2 trainer and light attack turboprop aircraft.
‘Best Collaboration Model’
Without going into any specific initiatives, Demiroglu said that Turkish industry more broadly is having “very, very, very advanced discussions” with Saudi Arabia related to a number of projects. “We are in discussion to find out the best collaboration model,” he said.
A model of the KAAN fighter jet on display at Turkish Aerospace Industries stand at IDEX 2025. (Agnes Helou / Breaking Defense)
He said he was confident that during 2025 Turkish firms “will announce at least a couple of big projects” with the Kingdom.
About interest in Hurkus 2 that was on display at the show, Demiroglu said that “there are interests, but that interest will grow, because if Turkish air force is accepting a platform, that means it’s a good platform.”
He added that TAI is discussing export deals of Hurkus trainer and light attack version, not only in Gulf countries but also with countries from Africa, Central Asia and the Far East.
More broadly, Demigroglu said that in the next five years TAI will focus on “how fast we can deliver [and] how cost competitive these platforms will be without sacrificing any bit from the quality.”
