From WELT:
The next milestone in Turkey's self-sufficiency plan
A few years ago, President Erdoğan ordered Turkey to arm itself. The programme is at least technologically successful, as the current fighter jet premiere shows. There are therefore many indications that the West's calculations are not working.
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan initiated a change in strategy shortly after taking office as President of the Republic of Turkey in 2014: The state should no longer be dependent on arms imports from other countries and their corporations for its armaments and instead build up an independent military industry.
In the meantime, successes are becoming apparent. According to reports on Platform X, the Anka 3 unmanned stealth fighter jet has just completed its maiden flight. The giant combat drone is a building block in the fleet of new Turkish military aircraft models that are now causing a stir worldwide.
The list of new models is long and varied. It includes, for example, the drone models from the private company Baykar, whose delivery to Ukraine to destroy Russian tanks made headlines. Over 500 units of the TB2 model have already been built. In October, a model with folding wings (TB3) flew for the first time, which is also to be produced in Saudi Arabia in the future.
Unlike the German government, Erdogan has no fear of contact with Riyadh when it comes to military products. A year ago, the large Kizilelma jet drone took off from Baykar for the first time. In future, it is to be stationed on the Turkish aircraft and drone carrier TCG Anadolu, which entered service in spring. The company belongs to the family of Selcuk Bayraktar, the son-in-law of Turkish President Erdogan.
A foretaste of the other new products was provided at the beginning of May - skilfully timed just before the presidential elections in Turkey - by a model presentation at the large state aviation group Turkish Aerospace. The unmanned Anka 3 fighter jet, which has now completed its maiden flight, was shown on a large screen.
The model can be used for reconnaissance purposes, electronic warfare or combat missions - for example against targets in the air, such as enemy helicopters, or on the ground. With a total weight of 6.5 tonnes, the weapon payload is estimated at 1.2 tonnes, with a maximum speed of 0.7 Mach and a flight time of up to ten hours.
At the centre of the presentation was what is currently probably Turkey's largest armaments project: the development of the first self-developed manned stealth fighter jet. At the public premiere of the jet, Erdogan symbolically took a brief seat in the cockpit himself and announced the name of the model: Kaan. This can be translated as ruler, commander or emperor. The Kaan model will one day replace older US F-16 models in the fleet.
Strategy pays off
The original plan was for both the unmanned Anka 3 fighter jet and the manned Kaan fighter jet to take off for their maiden flight by the end of the year. However, it has recently emerged that this double première is unlikely to be realised. In visualisations of the future capabilities of the Turkish aviation industry, the Kaan fighter jet, accompanied by combat drones such as the Anka 3 or Kizilelma, has been described in glowing terms as taking off on missions.
For Turkey's military planners, the self-sufficiency strategy in the defence sector is paying off. It is a response to the numerous sanctions imposed on the country by the West in recent years. Germany did not supply any more Leopard tanks for the fight against the Kurds. The USA stopped Turkey from supplying components for the US F-35 fighter jet because Erdogan purchased air defence missiles from Russian President Vladimir Putin. However, the West's calculation of slowing down Turkey's armaments is clearly not working.
When analysts from the Swedish peace research institute Sipri recently published the list of the world's top 100 defence companies, Turkish companies were among the big winners - in contrast to US companies, which saw a drop in turnover. The turnover of the four Turkish companies in the ranking rose by a massive 22 per cent to 5.5 billion dollars in 2022. The turnover of drone manufacturer Baykar alone rose by 94 per cent, and the company landed in 76th place on the list for the first time.
Arms companies are not only producing for their own armaments, but increasingly also for export customers. Drones, for example, are one of the country's top arms exports. Saudi Arabia has reportedly agreed a three-billion-dollar drone deal with Baykar. This year, Turkey's arms exports are expected to climb to a further six billion dollars.
However, it will be some time before Turkey achieves complete independence in military aviation. There is obviously still a need for development in jet propulsion systems. The construction of propeller drives for smaller drones is comparatively simple, but turbine drives for military jets are more challenging.
For example, it is unclear who the supplier of the jet engine for the Anka 3 combat drone is. The first prototypes of the manned Kaan fighter jet will initially be fitted with US turbines (F110) from General Electric. Turkey's own engine is to be available for the fighter jet by 2028. The Turkish Kaan fighter jet will presumably be on display at the world's largest air show in Paris next year.
EDIT: (Paywall)
Präsident Erdoğan hat der Türkei vor einigen Jahren eine eigenständige Aufrüstung verordnet. Das Programm ist zumindest technologisch erfolgreich, wie auch die aktuelle Kampfjet-Premiere zeigt. Vieles deutet deshalb darauf hin, dass das Kalkül des Westens nicht aufgeht.
www.welt.de