Ukraine Plans to Buy Turkish KAAN fighters

Ukraine’s Ambassador to Ankara, Vasiliy Bodnar, stated on CNN Türk that Ukraine plans to procure Turkish fifth-generation fighter jets, the KAAN, in the future.

This was reported by the Ukrainian aviation website Wings.

“Ukrainian experts are working within the framework of the project to create an engine for the Turkish national combat aircraft KAAN. This is not a new story. We have several experienced engine development companies,” Bodnar said.

The Ambassador suggested that the Turkish fighter jet could become a competitor to American aircraft, adding that Ukraine plans to purchase it.

“Ukraine will also acquire KAAN. And we will not limit ourselves to buying them, we will use them, and we know where exactly,” the Ambassador said.

Recall that Militarnyi reported on Turkey’s search for partners for a fighter development program due to financial difficulties.

Turkey is looking for foreign partners who could reduce its own financial burden from the program. Given the Ukrainian-Turkish cooperation in the defense sphere, the involvement of Ukrainian enterprises in the KAAN development program is quite likely.

KAAN

The development of the aircraft is carried out in stages, so important weapons systems will be installed only on later prototypes. The fighter, which was previously known as the MMU (Milli Muharip Ucak), or TF-X on May 1, 2023, was officially named KAAN.

The Turkish developers have the goal of creating a combat aircraft that will have low radar visibility and high maneuverability. It will have a modern optical-electronic location system and onboard radar. Production of three MMU Block prototypes is planned to be completed by the end of 2026 and one Block I prototype by 2029.

The production process of the first prototype of the new Turkish fighter was shown in November 2022. This happened on the assembly line of the Turkish Aerospace Industry (TAI). The Turkish Defense Industry Agency is implementing this project for the promising replacement of F-16 fighters.

Ground testing of the KAAN prototype began in March 2023. The aircraft’s first runway run was on March 16. The aircraft launched its own engines and moved for a time due to the thrust of the jet engines, so it successfully passed the first test of ground tests.

In 2021, the head of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) stated that the TF-X will first use foreign-made GE F110 engines, but later they will have Turkish-made engines from TRMotor.

However, in the summer of 2022, the Turkish Defense Industry Administration announced a competition for the development of a turbofan engine. Two Turkish companies applied for the competition: Tusas Engine Industries and TRMotor.

In July 2024, it became known that Azerbaijan and Turkey agreed to cooperate in the development of a new generation of fighters.

In September, the first test of the Martin Baker ejection seat for the Turkish KAAN combat aircraft took place in the UK.