it doesnt matter whether the US supports it or not. If Israel wants to do something, then it will do it since they are the ones in control of the US and not vice versa
No you arent ahead of them by a decade. First of all, Israel already developed a domestic fighter jet back in the 1980s or the 1990s and successfully flew it; I believe it was called IAI lavi. The only reason they stopped the project is because they controlled the US and the US was the sole tech hegemon in the region; therefore, they deemed it more cost-efficient to let the US bear the production cost and Israel takes the jets as donations or cheaper than its neighbours due to their title of "US's greatest allies"
However, the tech gap between US and the world is slowly being bridged and with the recent Gaza war that destroyed the fake image Israel has been building for decades, they are trying to make sure that in the worst case scenario involving the US bailing out from the region, Israel can still continue to maintain its strength
Moreover, the Israelis are a master of espionage and with the recent defence bill that passed the congress and senate involving the forceful meging of US defence industrial and Israeli industrial complexes, it became easier for Israel to force US tech giants, by law, to build and share technology with Israel whenever Israel wants
I expect the Israelis to have a functioning prototype in 5 years if not even less
Israel’s Lavi was a cool historical project, but let’s keep it real: it was cancelled 35+ years ago because it relied on U.S. funding, U.S. engines, U.S. avionics, and U.S. political approval. It was never a fully independent fighter program, and Israel hasn’t built a domestic jet since.
Meanwhile Turkiye is the only country in the region with an actual, flying, indigenous fighter jet program today.
KAAN has flown.
Hürjet has flown.
Hürkuş has flown.
Kızılelma has flown.
Akıncı, TB2, Aksungur, Anka — all flying.
Domestic engines are in testing.
A full national aerospace ecosystem exists.
Israel is excellent in missiles, sensors, EW, and UAVs — but it has no active fighter jet program. Turkiye is literally decades ahead in indigenous airframe development, with prototypes, production lines, and a complete supply chain.
So no, Turkiye isn’t “a decade behind.” In the specific domain of national fighter jets, Turkiye is the one actually building and flying them.
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