Turkey’s Development of Stealth Fighter Jet Should Alarm the Region

By modern diplomacy 

In 2016, Ankara announced the launch of its Turkish Fighter (TF-X), a stealth, twin-engine, all-weather air superiority fighter plane, rechristened as the KAAN project, which is part of a wider initiative intended to reduce Turkey’s dependence on foreign imports for its defense industry.

 At the start of the 2000s, Turkey relied on imports for 80% of its defense requirements, a figure that has now been reduced to around 20%. With that, Ankara is increasing both its resilience and control over its armed forces, mitigating the risk of a foreign country, most likely the U.S., being able to exert pressure on its military decision-making.

The KAAN fighter jet project is therefore part of this defense overhaul, with the aircraft intended to replace Turkey’s American-made F-16 fleet. The Turks are clearly hopeful of this endeavor, with the CEO of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the company responsible for developing the fighter jet, asserting that the KAAN ‘will have pretty much everything that a flying platform can offer,’ including stealth capabilities, AI integration, and precision strike capabilities.

In recent years, relations between Washington and Ankara have faltered over both the Kurdish question and, more recently, as a result of the fallout from the Israel-Hamas war in Gaza. Furthermore, in 2019, Turkey was removed from the F-35 program, further increasing the need for self-sufficiency in the arena of fighter jets. This turbulent relationship has clearly signaled to Erdogan the necessity to reduce his dependence upon the U.S., earning him more so-called ‘military sovereignty.’ The project, over a decade in production, is now in the prototyping phase, having completed several successful tests. The KAAN is set to depart for its maiden flight this year.

Although the KAAN jets are set to replace Turkey’s aging F-16 fleet, the aircraft itself looks set to challenge the U.S.’ other flagship fighter jet, the F-35, owing to the KAAN’s stealth and long-range striking capabilities. Both with the integration of new technologies such as AI and with better performance metrics—the KAAN can reach speeds of Mach 1.8, which is faster than the Mach 1.6 top speed of the F-35—the KAAN can possibly emerge as not only a viable competitor for American-made jets but as a superior alternative. Such a development will send shockwaves throughout the world. Until now, the U.S. has largely been seen, undisputedly, as the top producer of fighter jets, despite attempts made by the Russians and Chinese to usurp them.