ISTANBUL

The Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) conducted the 13-minute maiden flight of homegrown fighter jet KAAN on Wednesday in Murted Airfield in the capital Ankara.

The first fifth-generation fighter jet manufactured domestically aims to replace the Turkish army's aging fleet.

Before the maiden flight, KAAN's launch seat tests, full-length static tests, static tests of control surfaces, landing gear tests, avionic system tests, fuel tests, engine start-up tests, and taxiing tests have all been carried out.

The flight was made by Turkish test pilot Barbaros Demirbas.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Türkiye has left behind another critical stage to produce its own fifth-generation fighter aircraft.

"In the coming period, we will continue to give new good news to our nation in the defense industry," he said on X.

Temel Kotil, the head of TAI, said on X that KAAN stayed in the air for 13 minutes and reached a speed of 230 knots at an altitude of 8,000 feet.

"Turks' steel wings in the sky!" the Turkish industry and technology minister, Mehmet Fatih Kacir, also said on X.

Haluk Gorgun, the head of Türkiye's Defense Industries Presidency, said the country has achieved another development that will be one of the milestones in the defense industry.

"Through KAAN, we will bring not only a fifth-generation fighter jet, but also the technologies that few countries in the world have," he added.

KAAN will be capable of air-to-air combat with new-generation weapons and precision strikes from internal weapon mounts at supersonic speed, and will provide increased combat power with AI and neural network support.

The latest development makes Türkiye one of a few countries to own this technology.

The aircraft, for which the project began in 2016, was rolled out in March 2023.

Last year, it left from the hangar.

In May 2023, the name of the aircraft was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as KAAN.