TR Air-Force TF-X KAAN Fighter Jet

[Spitfire9]

FCAS will die. Germany and Spain will leave the program, and France will continue FCAS alone. Germany wants %50-50 partnership while France wants Germany to be a sidekick. I won't be surprised if Spain gets Kaan after Hurjet. GCAP will also see major delays. The US will offer Japan F-55 and F-47.

IIRC UK, Italy, Japan spent heavily on 6G R&D and more after GCAP was formed. Japan was not pleased with treatment by US/LM in F-2 development. If GCAP goes ahead, the partnership will have a good idea of the risks and costs. I don't see Japan buying a US 6G.

 

[Spitfire9]

France would be better off if they tried to build something like Kaan after rafale. They have all the infrastructure too. FCAS is not the optimal next step for them.

Doing 5G without foreign funding is very expensive. Risky. Kaan may be preferred as a better Rafale/Eurofighter/F-15/Su-30 etc replacement.

 

[TheInsider]

IIRC UK, Italy, Japan spent heavily on 6G R&D and more after GCAP was formed. Japan was not pleased with treatment by US/LM in F-2 development. If GCAP goes ahead, the partnership will have a good idea of the risks and costs. I don't see Japan buying a US 6G.

The US has significant leverage over Japan, and Japan has a history of complying with US pressure, and F-47 will be available on the market before GCAP.

 

[mTT]

https://twitter.com/i/web/status/1936671239134982377

 

[Spitfire9]

The US has significant leverage over Japan, and Japan has a history of complying with US pressure, and F-47 will be available on the market before GCAP.

I think that Japan is changing its thinking eg not complying with US pressure to co-develop F-3 with LM, now allowing arms exports, no veto on GCAP exports. Japan is pushing for GCAP delivery by 2035 to retire F-2. I see no need for F-47. If GCAP schedule slips it can build/buy more F-35.

 

[No Name]

The US has significant leverage over Japan, and Japan has a history of complying with US pressure, and F-47 will be available on the market before GCAP.

The power dynamics between the two are shifting, as Japan is the number one holder of US bonds, which gives the Japanese significant influence over the US. The US debt has ballooned to a point where the US pays more to repay the interest on its debt than it does for its military.

Anka 3 and KE could outnumber Kaan, but for that you have to decide that you want to allocate part of budget of Kaan to those, so like instrad of 150-200 KAAN, you could make the decision to purchase 100 Kaan and 150-200 KE and Anka3 in addition to F16, EF and F35s etc. So like I'm sure we'll buy from 25 up to 50 of each of KE and Anka 3 eventually, but when you say 100+ jet uavs that is a significant budget, many times that of 100 TB2. What is the total number of Akıncı or Aksungur now? Less than 30? So think of that

The thing is that the maintenance of the KE and Anka is way less than the KAAN, as you don't need to keep flying the drone to keep the pilots' skills from deteriorating. This means that you need to do far less maintenance on the drones compared with a manned fighter.

I don't want to speak ill of the Ankinci or Aksungur, but those platforms are not going to win a state-on-state war, there isn't that much of a reason to have a shit load of them unlike KE and Anka.

 

[mTT]

TUSAŞ’s KAAN Fighter Uses Martin Baker T18T Ejection Seat​

TUSAŞ’s KAAN Fighter Uses Martin Baker T18T Ejection Seat | TURDEF

During Paris Airshow 2025, Martin Baker displayed its MK18 ejection seat for various platforms, including TUSAŞ’s KAAN fighter and Hürjet advanced trainer.

turdef.com

 

[No Name]

Afaik only the prototypes will use those. I wonder if we can use the indigenous one with small modifications in Hürjet too.

I thought they gave up on an indigenous one.

 

[Zafer]

I thought they gave up on an indigenous one.

Have you heard any news, what makes you think so?

When you want to make 500+ planes you want to make your own seat. It can be a little lacking as it will be a new development but you can always improve and make it competitive.

 

[boredaf]

I wonder if we can use the indigenous one with small modifications in Hürjet too.

What indigenous one? There hasn't been any credible news about one being actually developed at all. Just some "we will also make that one day" talks.

 

[Sanchez]

Temel Kotil mentioned it

He mentioned many things.

“We [have] already started working on” the new TF35000 turbofan engine, Mehmet Demiroğlu, general manager at TAI, told Breaking Defense at Le Bourget, adding that work is being done jointly by Tusas Engine Industries (TEI) and TRMotor. As part of the system’s preliminary design phase, a “conceptual design is almost done,” he added, “and then it will go to initial prototyping maybe by the end of the year.”

Additionally, Demiroğlu said that “some early testing” of the powerplant is planned in 2026 and integration on KAAN could be a reality starting in 2032.

Turkish Aerospace eyes full development of local KAAN fighter jet engine by 2032 - Breaking Defense

KAAN flight tests currently feature General Electric's F110 turbofan engine, but Ankara has long prioritized a local alternative to reduce dependency on overseas suppliers.

breakingdefense.com

 

[boredaf]

Well, guess what, Temel Kotil mentioned it.

Yes, mentioned which is exactly what I'm talking about. And he constantly ran his mouth to the point that I stopped putting any importance on what he said well before he left. He also said T929 deliveries would start this year, do you also believe that?

 

[Pokemonte13]

He is not wrong about Kotil and the very unrealistic timeframes of him be it anka gökbey hürjet or hürkus. i mean we all know that it takes time to build and test these but just don't give dates you can't hold up to

 

[hugh]

He is not wrong about Kotil and the very unrealistic timeframes of him be it anka gökbey hürjet or hürkus. i mean we all know that it takes time to build and test these but just don't give dates you can't hold up to

he believed in the supremacy of baklava.

 

[hugh]

@Pokemonte13 @hugh what do you understand under "fully domestic"? Also the current CEO said this.

if there was a dedicated effort, they would have mentioned it specifically, not be assumed under blanket statements.

it could be, well it should be, on the roadmap but, to me, expressions like "fully domestic" are geared more towards public consumption. if someday they announced "this company develops this system, building these labs, aiming for these targets" then I'd be convinced.

 

[what]

I just checked out the wikipedia page of Martin Baker and even Chinese aircraft use their products. We dont need to reinvent the wheel and need to keep costs in check too.

 

[what]

In theory yes, and it is very unlikly to get embargoed.
But our "allies" are a different kind of breed when it comes to us. Again i don't expect an embargo too.

I understand, but its British company, which you know, could be worse.

 

[Pokemonte13]

@Pokemonte13 @hugh what do you understand under "fully domestic"? Also the current CEO said this.

Nothing what I said was only about the unrealistic and annoying timeframes about the projects

 

[Zafer]

When you look at the history of ejection seats even Romania made ejection seats at some point in time. Thinking Türkiye won't be able to make ejection seats is absurd. It may not be 100% up to par but it can be 85% at least for an initial breed. Going into the era of optionally manned fighters probably the importance of a seat is less and less as so long as the plane is in one piece it will fly you back safe thus reducing the likelihood of needing one to a small level. Japanese pilots flown into certain death, our pilots can fly into a small possibility in pride no problem.

 

[Sanchez]

When you look at the history of ejection seats even Romania made ejection seats at some point in time. Thinking Türkiye won't be able to make ejection seats is absurd. It may not be 100% up to par but it can be 85% at least for an initial breed. Going into the era of optionally manned fighters probably the importance of a seat is less and less as so long as the plane is in one piece it will fly you back safe thus reducing the likelihood of needing one to a small level. Japanese pilots flown into certain death, our pilots can fly into a small possibility in pride no problem.

Pilots are more important than the 150 million aircraft, you are speaking literal nonsense.