Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has announced that his country’s Air Force will soon use the Hurjet, a domestically produced fighter jet that will be deployed on the Anadolu amphibious assault ship. Erdogan stressed that these planes will be able to partially replace the F-16 currently used by Turkey, as they are equipped with Turkish weapons and radars. In addition, the president revealed that his country has developed its own fifth-generation fighter jet called “KAAN,” which will be used to replace the fleet of US-made F-16 fighters.
During an event organized by Turkish Aerospace Industries, the company that has developed the KAAN, Erdogan stressed that Turkey is now present in all fields, both on land and at sea, submarines, air, and space. According to Erdogan, Turkey will be one of the five countries in the world that will have fifth-generation combat aircraft. The KAAN, which began its development in 2016 and began its production in March of this year, is capable of reaching a speed of 1.8 Mach according to its technical characteristics.
In short, Turkey is betting heavily on developing its own military technology and investing in the development of fifth-generation fighter jets to modernize its fighter fleet and lessen its dependence on foreign manufacturers. With the Hurjet already in production and the KAAN on the way, the Turkish Air Force is expected to have a modern and diverse arsenal that will allow it to successfully face the challenges and threats that may arise in the future.