The first Turkish fighter - and immediately “five”?
The first Turkish fighter made its maiden flight. It happened on February 21 of this year, and only now will we try to thoughtfully comprehend what happened, because until that moment, apart from a joyful bacchanalia, there was nothing so meaningful in the Turkish media.
“A new titan rises into the sky”, “A modern sword for the Air Force”, “The shield and sword of the air frontiers”, “The country’s entry into advanced military technologies” and so on. It must be said that the Turks know how to rejoice from the heart. Don't take it away. Immediately the first - and the “five”, that is, a completely new generation. This, you know, is not an ordinary event.
In fact, everything looked quite cautious and modest: “Kaan” took off without retracting the landing gear and calmly gained an altitude of 13 km in 5 minutes, made one circle there at a low (about 500 km/h) speed and quietly landed. Throughout this flight, an F-16D flew nearby, from which the shooting was carried out.
Then there was a successful landing, and that’s all for now.
Naturally, the tests will continue, with each subsequent flight the plane will accelerate faster and climb higher.
Why such a howl and such joy? Well, everything is clear here. After the United States was “offended” by Turkey for the S-400 deal, it was necessary to somehow resolve the issue of saturating the Turkish Air Force with the latest aircraft, since not only are the F-35s no longer available to the Turks, but also the existing F-16s may be removed from upgrades. Americans are like that...
In general, the Turks needed their own plane. Because this is how and only this way it is possible to create an independent and self-sufficient army, despite the high cost and technical complexity inherent in the creation of modern combat aircraft.
That is why, despite a certain interest, the Turks abandoned the idea of buying the Su-57 and decided to build their own aircraft.
And in the end, “Kaan” turned out. The Turks refused the help from Russia offered by Rostec, but they danced quite fruitfully with SAAB, BAE Systems, Rolls-Royce and FiatAvio. Considering that almost everyone on the list was involved in the construction of the Typhoon, the help was more than significant.
The Kaan has a profile broadly similar to the American F-22A Raptor stealth fighter.
Its aluminum nose and titanium central fuselage are coated with lightweight, low-radio-reflective carbon composite thermal pastes that Turkish companies originally created for “their” F-35 aircraft.
Since external armament reduces stealth, and the requirements for fifth-generation fighters include placing weapons in internal bays, the Kaan has two small internal bays located next to the engines, capable of holding two short-range air-to-air missiles each. The main fuselage compartment must accommodate four long-range air-to-air missiles or weapon class "air-ground".
That is, in this regard, “Kaan” is sort of like a “five”.
There is a nuance with engines. The engines of the Turkish aircraft are American F110-GE-129 turbofan engines (also used on F-16 fighters) are not optimized for stealth. At all. And this calls into question the “five” rating of the new Turkish aircraft.
Of course, the participation in the project of a company such as Rolls-Royce in the future will be able to provide the Turkish aircraft with a new generation engine, and it is quite possible that subsequent modifications in terms of stealth will correspond to the canons of stealth and maneuverability of the fifth generation.
With the effective dispersion area (RCS) of the aircraft, decent work was also done with the geometry of the surfaces and the use of radio-absorbing materials. However, it is premature to draw any conclusions about the Kaan’s ESR figures.
As for dynamic performance, the Kaan strives to match the typical performance of modern fighters: a maximum speed of Mach 1,8 to 2,2, a service ceiling of 16-17 meters, maneuvers with an overload of up to 000 g and a flight range of up to 9 km without refueling. It is also expected that it will be capable of flying at supersonic speeds without resorting to afterburner. The use of two engines in an aircraft design will increase costs in terms of fuel consumption, but will increase flight safety in the event of failure or damage to one of the engines.
In terms of weapons, the Kaan can be equipped with containers with reconnaissance and sighting equipment and precision weapons, including NATO-standard missiles such as Meteor. But we shouldn’t forget about domestic Turkish weapons, such as short-range Bozdogan and medium-range Gökdogan air-to-air missiles, SOM cruise missiles (range of more than 200 km) and MAM-T anti-tank missiles.
Avionics will presumably include a modern cockpit with a voice-controlled autopilot that can land the plane if the pilot becomes unconscious, and a British Martin-Baker ejection seat (possibly a US-16E model). Turkish manufacturer TAI also promises a noise-resistant and stealthy gallium nitride radar with AFAR from the Turkish company ASELSAN, an infrared sensor mounted in the nose, and an electro-optical guidance system with a 360-degree view under the fuselage, an open architecture, a helmet-mounted sight and the ability to control combat weapons. drones Anka-3, which will accompany the Kaan on missions.
The situation is impressive, but you and I understand perfectly well that more than one year may pass from the first flight to regiments armed with fighters. And “Kaan” has just yet to embark on this road. The plane that made its first flight and the combat fighter are two different machines. The flying prototype completely lacks combat systems, but that’s why it’s a flight prototype. The next two prototypes, scheduled to launch in 2025 and 2026, should have most of the systems. After production of a total of 7 to 10 prototypes, delivery of the first ten Block 1 aircraft intended for military service is scheduled for 2030-2033. Only then will a decade of mass production begin (at a rate of 24 aircraft per year) to gradually replace Turkey's F-16 fleet and last until the 2070s.
The program, we note, is very confident. Although, to be fair, let’s say that no one is immune from “shifts to the right.”
True, it’s a question of price... Yes, if Turkey can secure export orders to increase the total volume of aircraft produced and reduce unit costs, each Kaan will likely cost more than $100 million per aircraft.
On the one hand, this is considerably more than the Turks would pay for one F-35, on the other hand, no one is going to sell the F-35 to Turkey.
This means that Turkey will follow approximately the same path as South Korea with its KF-21 Boramae. That is, it will carry out a development program until it is possible to sell “Kaan” to other countries. Fortunately, there are already people interested in the aircraft, and if a willing country like Ukraine doesn’t and won’t have the money, then countries like Azerbaijan, Pakistan, the UAE, and Indonesia are much more serious buyers. Especially Pakistan and the Emirates, Azerbaijan is generally more than a strategic partner.
This does not mean that Kaan will not be better adapted to Turkish requirements, including integration into the growing Turkish system of weapons, sensors, drones and battle management networks.
"Kaan" will be an important political tool, since Turkey's relations with the United States and Germany deteriorated after the S-400 hit them. The Kaan will not only be a means of defense, but also a demonstration of political independence, since the ability to build its own aircraft regardless of its relations with Western countries will give Turkey additional weight on the world stage. And, as is well known, the Turkish leader loves this very much.
The Kaan, or more precisely the TF-X, went into development in 2010, when Turkey was on its way to acquiring a large fleet of F-35s. But deteriorating relations with the United States culminated in 2019, when Turkey received a cancellation of the F-35 program. This, in turn, forced the Kaan to evolve from an air superiority oriented fighter to a more straightforward multi-role aircraft.
The relatively developed drone industry in Turkey has led to the fact that military drones took on a specific role in combat missions in conjunction with manned jet fighters. This is a certain vector of development, and Turkish designers can cope with such tasks. At least experiments in this direction are underway.
Politics... continuation of any vector of weapons development. In 2023, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan made a gentlemanly exchange for Turkey's agreement to Sweden's entry into NATO on the one hand and the sale of F-16s to the United States and the modernization of Turkish F-16s, which had long been denied. Erdogan also still expects to conclude a deal for 40 Eurofighter 2000 generation 4+ aircraft, that is, to “spin” Germany into lifting the blockade. But this is very, very difficult.
US officials recently confirmed their willingness to sell Turkey the F-35 if it retires its Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems. This may be a good compromise, but Erdogan has reiterated his view that it is politically unacceptable.
But now the situation is aggravated by the fact that Turkey's main rival Greece (also a member of the NATO alliance) has received US approval to purchase F-35s and additional Rafale fighters from France (which opposes Turkish policies in Libya and the Mediterranean). Long-standing disputes over the islands of the Mediterranean Sea mean that Greek and Turkish planes often collide with each other, even literally, and the two states are constantly in difficult relations.
But besides Greece, Turkey is full of tensions both internally and (especially) externally. Support for Azerbaijan in the war with Armenia, the Kurdish issue in Syria and so on. The Kurds are a complex issue in general, they are still supported by the United States, and the result of all these political fluctuations was the incident last year in which an American plane shot down a Turkish combat drone.
Turkey's complex international relations make its quest for an independent air force far more pressing than it might be if the country had more stable relations with its bloc allies.
The Turks are well aware of the importance of independence in military matters. aviation from import suppliers. Therefore, it was immediately announced that at least 80-85% of the components would be made in Turkey. But here the rake of the unforgettable “Superjet” and MC-21 is drawn - the key stumbling block remains the dependence on American-made F110 engines, which are assembled but not produced in Turkey by Tusas Engine Industries (TEI). At the moment, the United States has sold 10 engines for the first stage of Kaan, but there is no guarantee that the Americans will supply F110 engines for Kaan beyond the 10 purchased.
And high-performance turbofan engines are notoriously difficult to improve and even more difficult to start from scratch. Here the example of China is very indicative: China is a country that has significant resources to solve this problem, but, nevertheless, is still working to completely get rid of dependence on Russian engines.
So the Turks are walking around the bazaar in search of something that could ultimately replace the F110. There are options here, for example, with the participation of the Turkish company Kale and the British Rolls Royce, and another with the participation of TEI and the Ukrainian company Ivchenko Progress. With Ukrainians, of course, the option is very so-so, but since a Turk and a Ukrainian are brothers forever, you can take a risk. Although personally I would not dare to take such a risky step.
Turkish officials have said a third engine option is also being considered, possibly with a non-NATO state such as China or Russia in mind. Let's see how things end, but Erdogan knows how to bargain for himself and his country.
In fact, Turkey does not have its own engine for the Kaan, and what it does have, the TF6000 and TF10000, is completely unsuitable for a fighter.
In addition, Turkish industry benefits from the availability of battle-tested munitions, nets, drones and sensors that it can adapt to the Kaan. However, the U.S. aerospace sector's notorious difficulties in completing development of the F-35 indicate that systems integration often proves more complex than expected, especially when attempting to meet the weight, geometry, and volume constraints of fifth-generation stealth aircraft. generations.
Due to the fact that Turkey has encountered a refusal to supply the F-35, the Kaan will most likely complete development and go into production. And it will serve for the glory of the Turkish Air Force. A big problem remains the provision of engines and spare parts for them. Plus, the financial side is also of great importance. Given the ongoing inflation crisis in Turkey and turbulent international relations, it is very important that there is enough money for the program until the final stage, that is, until the Kaan is put into operation.
By comparison, India's indigenous fighter program resulted in the Tejas Mk1, which by the time it was completed was completely inferior to the foreign alternatives in service with the Indian Air Force. As a result, the Indian Air Force purchased a very small batch. But India hopes its investment in the Tejas has laid the foundation for the improved Tejas Mark 1A and Mark 2 aircraft, and eventually the AMCA stealth fighter, which could give it greater air independence.
Turkey is certainly hoping that "Kaan" will debut at a higher level than "Tejas", thereby justifying a larger project in every sense. The completed Kaan could eventually be used as the basis for a more advanced sixth-generation stealth aircraft and artificial intelligence technology that Turkey has recently begun to explore, leading to sustainable production of Turkish fighter jets. And then you can already think about realizing your export ambitions, since “raw” aircraft, for which there is no support program and maintenance logistics have not been established, are unlikely to interest potential buyers.
In general, the first flight of the first Turkish fighter is just one step on a long and long path. Yes, the fact that the Turkish industry has experience in creating combat drones, including jet ones, creating a multi-functional combat aircraft is not a matter of one year. So, despite the loud cries of joy in the Turkish media, we will simply observe this most interesting process.
And we’ll draw a conclusion about how possible it is to build a “five” like this, the first time. Something tells me that this is not as simple a matter as it seems.
Information