The prototype of the KAAN, a fifth-generation fighter designed and manufactured in Turkey, successfully completed its second flight.
KAAN took off Monday morning and remained in the air for 14 minutes, reaching an altitude of 10,000 feet and a speed of 230 knots, the president of Turkish Defense Industries announced in a statement.
Tarihin içinde tarihi bir an daha…#KAAN’ımız bugün ikinci kez #GökVatan ile buluştu! 🇹🇷✈️
Heyecanlı ve gururluyuz.İlk uçuşunu 21 Şubat’ta başarı ile gerçekleştiren Milli Muharip Uçağımız, bu sabah 08.46’da pisten havalanarak 14 dakika havada kaldı ve 10 bin feet irtifaya… pic.twitter.com/aGNviQxyAX
— Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün (@halukgorgun) May 6, 2024
“I wholeheartedly congratulate all our companies, employees and institutional personnel who contributed to the project, especially our engineers, pilots and TAI technical teams,” said Prof. Dr. Haluk Görgün, Secretary of Turkish Defense Industry.
KAAN’s first flight took place on February 21, 2024. The prototype took off from the runway at 08.50 a.m. and remained in the air for 13 minutes, reaching an altitude of 8000 feet and managed to reach a speed of 230 knots.
#GökVatan KAAN’ın kanatları altında! ✈️ pic.twitter.com/hGmtHJq54I
— Türk Havacılık Uzay Sanayii (@TUSAS_TR) May 7, 2024
Component assemblies were completed between May and November 2022, and the final assembly line was commissioned in November 2022. Following intensive system testing in December 2022 and January 2023, the aircraft rolled out of the hangar ahead of schedule on February 10, 2023, and the first engine start-up activity took place on February 12, 2023. On March 17, 2023, the first slow taxi tests were successfully conducted. In the run-up to the first flight, the necessary reinforcement activities for the first flight were carried out and the pre-flight tests were completed. Simultaneously, aircraft and system requirements were defined, air and system functions were determined and the preliminary design phase of the configuration to be delivered to the TurAF (Turkish Air Force) was completed.
According to Turkish Aerospace, KAAN features capabilities of a 5th generation fighter aircraft, such as high maneuverability, low radar visibility, avionics architecture open to development, enhanced situational awareness, and will use precision armament of Turkish origin.
