KAAN and Türkiye’s aerospace renaissance

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The Turkish aerospace and defense sector has achieved a significant milestone with the first flight …
  • The Turkish aerospace and defense sector has achieved a significant milestone with the first flight of the indigenous fighter jet KAAN. The fifth-generation aircraft "reached an altitude of 8,000 feet and achieved a speed of 230 knots," according to a statement on the website of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the company producing KAAN. The flight lasted a total of 13 minutes.
  • Following Türkiye’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership in the Turkish Parliament, the U.S. State Department notified Congress of a $23 billion (TL 698.52 billion) sale of fighter jets to Türkiye and an $8.6 billion sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece, another ally in the NATO. The sale to Türkiye includes 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and equipment to modernize the existing fleet of 79 F-16s. Greece will receive 40 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and related equipment.
  • As the municipal election campaign gained momentum with the unveiling of mayoral candidates and the fine-tuning of their campaigns, two major developments took place in foreign policy: the Turkish Parliament’s approval of Sweden’s NATO admission on Tuesday and Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi’s visit to the Turkish capital, where Türkiye and Iran signed 10 agreements.

Bu Konuda Daha Fazla

  • President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan spoke with reporters covering his day trip to Nakhchivan, Azerbaijan, where he attended the groundbreaking ceremony for the Iğdır-Nakhchivan Natural Gas Pipeline with Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev. His main remarks included the following:

  • Türkiye will hold both presidential and parliamentarian elections on Sunday. It is generally being shared that Türkiye is at a crossroads. All internal and external observers consider the elections as the most important elections in the whole world. That is, it is not only vital for the Turkish people but also important for the region and even for the world. The results of the Turkish elections will have significant implications for both national and international politics. Today, I want to take some notes on the Western perceptions of the coming elections.

  • The Biden administration has taken a symbolic yet significant step regarding the F-16 issue.

  • Why does Türkiye want to buy F-16V aircraft and modernization kits? Why are there problems in procuring these aircraft and modernization kits? How would a lack of US sales approval affect Turkish-US relations?

  • Ahead of the May 2023 elections in Türkiye, the Western media launched a campaign to “unite the opposition to get rid of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.” In recent months, anti-Turkish and anti-Erdoğan articles have appeared more and more frequently in United States and European publications.