Turkish Aerospace (TAI, also known by the Turkish acronym TUSAŞ) is preparing for the first flight of its production-standard Kaan fifth-generation fighter prototype, known as P1, in around May-June 2026. The company has recently shown videos of the aircraft, together with the original P0 prototype and the TBST-P static test aircraft.

Kaan P1 appeared to be virtually complete in the videos, at that point unpainted but with its F110 engines installed, with only a few small panels around the tailfin root and under the belly not fitted. Imagery shows a number of changes compared to the original P0 prototype. Significantly, the aircraft has a wider fuselage, with a bigger gap between the engines. This is speculated to give increased internal fuel and/or weapon-carrying capacity and may allow a larger rear-facing radar to be fitted, if indeed such a sensor will be fitted.

The main landing gear has been relocated slightly further outboard on the fuselage ‘shoulders’, giving a marginally wider track. There are changes to the tailplanes (the inboard trailing edge ‘corners’ of which are cropped) and to the trailing edge control surfaces. The engine intakes (and the associated leading edge root extensions above them) appear to have been moved rearwards.

The aircraft appears to have been fitted with some operational systems and a faceted fairing for the Aselsan Karat infrared search and track (IRST) system is mounted above the nose, with a similar fitting under the nose for the Toygun electro-optical targeting system. It is not known whether the aircraft is fitted with the planned Murad active electronically scanned-array (AESA) radar.

Mehmet Demiroğlu. president & CEO of Turkish Aerospace, has said, of P1’s maiden flight, “We had planned the first one for the end of April, but we will fly it in May, or at most June, Allah willing.

“Minor last-minute touches and last-minute setbacks can always occur in such large projects,” Demiroglu said, pointing to the need for two to three months of ground testing, including system, resonance, fuel and electrical tests.

The second prototype, P2, is expected to follow before the end of this year (probably in September or October), while the third prototype, P3, is planned to fly later this year or early next year.

The National Combat Aircraft (Milli Muharip Uçak, or MMU) programme, as the Kaan programme is otherwise known, was launched in 2010, and was originally intended to provide a low-end indigenous TFX fighter in a high/low fighter fleet mix, with the Lockheed Martin F-35A forming the ‘high end’ element. However, the MMU was designed from the start as a relatively heavy twin-engined aircraft, its size driven by range, internal payload and endurance/persistence requirements demanding more internal fuel capacity, larger weapon bays and more margin for growth.

This proved fortuitous after Türkiye was ejected from the F-35 programme due to Ankara’s acquisition of Russian S-400 air defence systems, with the MMU, also known as the TFX, becoming Türkiye’s new ‘high end’ fighter. Upgraded F-16s now form the low-end element of Türkiye’s future combat air force.

The MMU programme was designated as a “national survival project”, under which 250 fighters are to be procured between 2029-2040.

The very first MMU prototype was originally a ground test airframe designated the GTU-0 that was not intended to fly at all. The plan was to taxi the aircraft in a rollout ceremony and to fly the Hürjet advanced trainer and ATAK-2 attack helicopter on the same day: 18 March 2023. This commemorated Türkiye’s victory in the Battle of Çanakkale (Gallipoli) and the 100th anniversary of the founding of modern Türkiye by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk.

Plans were set back slightly by the Turkish earthquakes of February 2023, but the MMU prototype was taxied on 16 March and had a relatively low-key rollout two days later. A full ceremonial rollout was then undertaken on 1 May  2023 in the presence of Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who named the new aircraft Kaan (meaning ‘Ruler’, or ‘King of Kings’).

At some stage it was decided to fly the GTU-0, which was redesignated as P0. The aircraft was hastily modified and fitted with a flight-worthy undercarriage, but was otherwise a technology demonstrator that lacked operational systems and was unrepresentative of the planned production configuration.

The maiden flight for P0 was targeted for 27 December 2023, but unspecified technical problems prevented this despite TAI technicians working three shifts around the clock. P0 subsequently made its maiden flight on 21 February 2024 in the hands of Barbaros Demirbaş, TAI’s fixed-wing flight test and training manager.

P0 then made its second and final flight on 6 May, with company test pilot Gökhan Bayramoğlu at the controls. The two flights totalled just 27 minutes, with the aircraft reaching a maximum speed of 230 kts (426 km/h) and a maximum altitude of 10,000 ft. It is not planned to fly P0 again.

The MMU programme was divided into three phases, with GTU-0 constructed under the first stage of Phase One. The second stage of Phase One included the construction of three flying prototypes – the first of which is the recently unveiled P1– and three Block 0 development aircraft.

Phase Two of the programme will see the delivery of 20 Block 10 production aircraft to the Turkish Air Force – up from 10 originally. Deliveries were initially planned to begin from 18 March 2028, but the delivery target is now 2029-2033, assuming that an order is placed quickly. Demiroğlu stated, “By 2029 we will have passed this serial production phase and started deliveries. We also expect to receive the official order for these 20 aircraft soon.”

Demiroğlu also expressed optimism about timescales, saying that the likelihood of maintaining the 2029 target remains high while warning that small individual delays can push timelines much further to the right. He took the opportunity to take a sideswipe at the “lengthy development” of the F-35, pointing out that “delays of two to three months are not a cause for concern in projects of this magnitude”.

The Block 20 MMU will be delivered from 2034 under Phase Three. This aircraft was originally expected to integrate the new indigenously produced TUSAS Engine Industries (TEI) TF35000 engine, but this is now in doubt, with Demiroğlu recently saying, “Between 20 and 40 Kaan aircraft will be produced with [US-sourced] F110 engines in the Block 10 and Block 20 phases.”

Block 20 will incorporate low-observable-appropriate materials and coatings, as well as incorporating a full sensor architecture, and will use the type’s internal weapon bay.

While early Kaan aircraft will be powered by US-supplied General Electric F110-129 engines, which are used by the Turkish Air Force’s latest F-16s and have a thrust rating of 29,000 lb st (129 kN), the F110 is viewed as an interim powerplant. The longer-term requirement is to integrate the indigenous TF35000 engine, developing 35,000 lb st (156 kN), the programme for which was launched by TRMotor and TEI in 2022. Deliveries of TF35000 powerplants are scheduled to begin from 2032.