Turkey's KAAN: The Dark Horse of 5th-Generation Fighters

When Turkey's KAAN lifted off the runway at Mürted Air Base on February 21, 2024, it became one of only a handful of countries to fly an indigenous fifth-generation combat aircraft. The demonstrator prototype — designated P0 — stayed aloft for thirteen minutes on that maiden flight. But the significance of those thirteen minutes extends far beyond a single test sortie. Turkey is attempting to break free from dependence on American fighter jets, and the KAAN is the machine that will determine whether that gamble succeeds.

The program has already secured a $10 billion export order from Indonesia for 48 aircraft, drawn serious interest from Saudi Arabia, Spain, and Pakistan, and triggered a confrontation with the U.S. Congress over engine export licenses. For a fighter that has not yet entered production, the KAAN is generating a remarkable amount of geopolitical turbulence.

Why Turkey Built Its Own Fighter

The roots of the KAAN trace back to Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 Lightning II program. In 2019, Turkey took delivery of Russian S-400 missile defense systems despite repeated American warnings. The United States responded by ejecting Turkey from the F-35 consortium and imposing sanctions under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). Turkey had already paid for and was scheduled to receive over 100 F-35s. Overnight, that plan evaporated.

But the fighter ambition did not begin with the F-35 fallout. Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI, formerly TUSAS) had been studying an indigenous combat aircraft since the early 2010s under the TF-X program. The F-35 ejection simply converted what had been a long-term aspiration into an urgent national priority. Turkey's air force still operates aging F-16s as its frontline fighters, and without the F-35, there was no clear replacement on the horizon — except the one Turkey would build itself.

Full-scale development accelerated rapidly. The program was formally renamed KAAN — Turkish for "Khan" or "ruler" — in 2023, and the P0 demonstrator prototype was rolled out that same year, followed by its first flight in February 2024.

Design and Engineering

The KAAN is a twin-engine, single-seat stealth fighter designed for air superiority with secondary ground attack capability. The overall configuration draws from the same aerodynamic principles as the F-22 Raptor — twin canted vertical stabilizers, blended wing-body fuselage, and angular surfaces designed to scatter radar energy. But the KAAN charts its own path in several important areas.

The P0 demonstrator measured roughly 21 meters in length. The newer P1 and P2 prototypes, unveiled in February 2026, incorporated significant design revisions: the airframe was shortened by approximately one meter to around 20 meters, the mid-section was widened to increase internal volume, and the air intakes were repositioned further aft toward cockpit level. These intakes now feature ramp-type geometry with internal S-duct arrangements — a configuration critical for both supersonic performance and radar signature reduction, since S-ducts hide the engine compressor face from frontal radar illumination.

The engine spacing was also increased between the P0 and P1 designs, creating room for a wider internal weapons bay beneath the fuselage and additional sensor installations along the fuselage sides. Landing gear integration moved into the sides of the main fuselage rather than the belly, with greater distance between the main gear legs — a change that improves ground stability and frees up internal bay volume.

The Engine Problem

Every discussion about the KAAN eventually arrives at engines, because engines are simultaneously the program's greatest vulnerability and its most ambitious long-term goal.

The early prototypes are powered by a pair of General Electric F110 turbofan engines — the same powerplant used in Turkey's existing F-16 fleet and a proven, reliable engine that produces roughly 29,000 pounds of thrust in afterburner. The problem is that the F110 is an American product, and the U.S. Congress has been blocking additional export licenses.

In September 2025, Turkey's Foreign Minister confirmed that engine export licenses had been "suspended" by Congress, citing ongoing concerns about Turkey's S-400 purchase. As of late 2025, Turkey had received 10 F110 engines but was awaiting approval for 80 more. Forty U.S. lawmakers urged the State Department to maintain CAATSA sanctions, arguing that Turkey still possessed the Russian air defense system.

Turkey's answer is the TEI TF35000 — a domestically developed turbofan engine designed to produce 35,000 pounds of thrust. Developed by Tusas Engine Industries (TEI) in cooperation with TRMOTOR, the TF35000 completed its conceptual design phase in 2025, with first prototype production expected by the end of that year and initial ground testing beginning in 2026. The engine is expected to enable supercruise — sustained supersonic flight without afterburner — a capability that would place the KAAN in genuinely fifth-generation territory.

However, integration of the TF35000 into production KAAN aircraft is not expected until 2032. That creates a multi-year window during which the program depends on American engines while simultaneously being denied those engines by the American government. How Turkey navigates this paradox will largely determine the KAAN's timeline.

Sensors and Avionics

Where the KAAN's engine situation is complicated, its avionics package is genuinely impressive — and almost entirely indigenous. Turkish defense electronics firm ASELSAN has developed a comprehensive sensor suite built around the Integrated RF System (IRFS).

The centerpiece is the MURAD 600-A, an active electronically scanned array (AESA) radar that represents a significant step beyond the MURAD 100-A currently used in Turkey's upgraded F-16s and Bayraktar Akinci drones. The MURAD system incorporates gallium nitride (GaN) transistor technology, which provides higher power output and better reliability than older gallium arsenide components. The radar offers synthetic aperture radar (SAR) imaging modes including ISAR, dot-SAR, and strip-SAR for ground mapping, alongside traditional air-to-air search and track.

The electronic warfare suite includes wideband spectrum monitoring, directional jamming, radar warning receivers, and electronic support measures for threat identification. Below the nose, a faceted, low-observable fairing houses the Toygun electro-optical targeting system — also developed by ASELSAN — which combines high-definition day television, medium-wave and short-wave infrared imaging, laser rangefinding and designation, and advanced tracking algorithms.

The sensor architecture also includes an infrared search and track (IRST) system for passive detection of airborne targets, and a distributed aperture system (DAS) providing 360-degree infrared coverage for missile warning. This sensor fusion approach mirrors the philosophy behind the F-35's AN/AAQ-37 DAS — giving the pilot comprehensive situational awareness without relying on the aircraft's own radar emissions.

How It Compares

The KAAN enters a crowded field of emerging fifth-generation fighters, alongside the KF-21 Boramae, India's AMCA, and the operational Su-57 Felon. Each takes a different approach to the same challenge: building an advanced combat aircraft outside the traditional American and Russian duopoly.

Compared to the KF-21, the KAAN is more ambitious in its stealth design. South Korea's fighter uses semi-recessed external weapons rather than internal bays in its initial blocks, while the KAAN has committed to internal weapons carriage from the outset. The wider engine spacing in the P1 redesign specifically accommodated a larger internal bay.

Against the Su-57, the KAAN's avionics architecture appears more modern — particularly the GaN-based AESA radar and the comprehensive electro-optical suite — though the Russian fighter has the advantage of an operational indigenous engine in the AL-41F1. The KAAN's dependence on foreign engines remains its most significant disadvantage relative to both the Su-57 and the F-22.

The real comparison, though, is with the F-35 — the aircraft Turkey was supposed to buy. The KAAN is a larger, twin-engine aircraft designed primarily for air superiority, while the F-35 is a smaller, single-engine multirole platform optimized for strike and sensor fusion. They occupy different design philosophies, and Turkey will likely need both types eventually. Whether a future reconciliation with Washington leads to renewed F-35 access remains an open question.

Export Ambitions

The KAAN's export potential may ultimately matter more than its domestic service. Turkey has positioned the fighter as an alternative for countries that cannot access American fifth-generation aircraft — or choose not to depend on Washington for their air defense.

The headline deal is Indonesia's commitment to 48 KAAN jets in a $10 billion agreement signed in July 2025. Indonesia had previously been a cost-sharing partner in South Korea's KF-21 program but scaled back its involvement. The KAAN deal represents a significant strategic realignment and Turkey's first major foreign fighter sale.

Egypt has signed on as a co-production partner. Saudi Arabia has entered discussions that could involve either a direct purchase of approximately 20 aircraft or, if Riyadh opts for a final assembly line, an order of at least 50. Those talks have reportedly triggered pushback from Washington. Pakistan, Azerbaijan, the UAE, and Malaysia have all expressed interest at various levels.

Perhaps most surprisingly, Spain has been evaluating the KAAN, with negotiations potentially leading to an €8-10 billion deal. A NATO ally purchasing a Turkish fifth-generation fighter instead of the F-35 would represent a seismic shift in European defense procurement. Whether that materializes remains uncertain, but the fact that it is being discussed at all illustrates how the KAAN has disrupted the market.

Current Status and What Comes Next

As of early 2026, six KAAN prototypes have been ordered by Turkey's Secretariat of Defense Industries. The P0 demonstrator has been conducting flight tests since its February 2024 maiden flight. The P1 prototype, featuring the redesigned airframe, is expected to fly by mid-2026. P2 is scheduled for rollout before the end of 2026, followed by P3 in early 2027.

The testing program is entering an intensified phase that includes expanded flight and ground evaluations. Sensors visible on the upper sections of the vertical stabilizers in the P1 prototype suggest that electronic warfare and situational awareness systems are being integrated earlier in the test program than originally planned.

The production timeline envisions Block 0 aircraft with F110 engines entering Turkish Air Force service between 2030 and 2033, with the domestically powered Block 1 variant following after TF35000 integration in 2032. Full operational capability with the indigenous engine is a late-2030s proposition.

The KAAN's path to operational service is neither guaranteed nor simple. The engine supply chain remains precarious, the domestic engine is years from maturity, and the program's timeline has already shifted multiple times. But Turkey has demonstrated something that few nations can claim: the ability to design, build, and fly a credible fifth-generation fighter prototype. The gap between prototype and production line is enormous, but the hardest part — proving that the concept works — is behind them.

For the global fighter market, the KAAN represents something genuinely new: a fifth-generation option that does not come from Washington, Moscow, or Beijing. Whether that is enough to sustain the program through its most challenging development years will determine whether Turkey's dark horse fighter becomes a serious contender — or a cautionary tale about the distance between ambition and execution.