Turkey's licensed production was undoubtedly an important starting for us, but no other country engaged in similar production has reached the level we have achieved. In a short time, we have accomplished success that only a few countries are capable of. Specifically, we have reached a strong position in unmanned aerial vehicles. The technology of the future will be MUM-T (Manned-Unmanned Teaming). Our experience with UAVs will be highly beneficial for us in the field of MUM-T as well.
Do you think it is wise to share these achievements with the Tempest/GCAP partners?
On the other hand, we are located in a region where political tensions are always a possibility. The partners might try to pressure us for political reasons...
Please don't be angry with me, I don't want to drag our industry into the mud and make it look bad. They really have achieved incredible things in just 15 years - nobody questions that, not even foreign countries.
But countries like Great Britain, Japan, France and even Germany and Italy are at least 10 years ahead of us technologically in aircraft construction.
I'm not talking about drones and their targeting software - that's a whole separate chapter.
They all don't have own GEN 5 aircraft, not because they can't do it, but because the political and economic will wasn't there to develop one. But that has nothing to do with the fact that they can't do it. The fact that they are venturing directly into GEN 6 aircraft such as FCAS and Tempest shows that they already have the basic prerequisites for developing a GEN 5 aircraft.
They skip GEN 5 as a separate aircraft because they see no significant added value between a Rafaele/Eurofighter and GEN 5 aircraft. They go straight to GEN 6. If Turkey had developed a GEN 4.5 aircraft with similar parameters as a Rafaele/Eurofighter say 10-15 years ago. I am 1000% sure they would never have developed KAAN as a 5 GEN and would have gone straight to GEN 6.
Because the gap between an absolute high-end aircraft of the GEN 4.5 and 5 GEN is not so extremly serious.