Not long ago, the United States and Russia held absolute sway in the export of cutting-edge fighter jets to Middle Eastern countries. However, this domination is coming to an end, as evinced by the interest shown by countries in the region in Turkey’s / Turkiye’s fifth-generation stealth fighter jet—‘KAAN.’
The United Arab Emirates (UAE) has become the latest country to express interest in the KAAN fighter jet, as confirmed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) CEO Mehmet Demiroglu to Turkish media. “During high-level discussions, UAE officials expressed interest in KAAN and indicated their willingness to engage with the project,” he noted.
The announcement was made at the IDEX 2025 defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi, which kicked off on February 17 and will conclude on February 21.
Notably, the development comes months after the UAE announced in September 2024 that it did not intend to reopen talks on the potential purchase of F-35 Lightning II fighter jets.
After initially expressing interest in the American fifth-generation aircraft, the UAE abandoned the project after talks with US officials hit a deadlock. Instead, it signed a deal with French manufacturer Dassault to purchase 80 Rafale F4 fighter jets.
If the deal for the Turkish KAAN is finalized, this would be the second time in about four years that the UAE has picked a non-American aircraft.
Also, the UAE has become the second country in the Gulf to express interest in the Turkish fifth-generation stealth aircraft.
Last year, local Turkish media reports indicated that Saudi Arabia was mulling the purchase of at least 100 KAAN fighter jets. In fact, representatives from both sides met in December 2024 to discuss an array of defense projects, including KAAN.
The TAI chief also discussed the potential for Saudi Arabia’s participation in the KAAN program and expressed hope that other countries, including the UAE, could also join the ambitious project.
Demiroglu said Saudi Arabia and Turkey are working closely on KAAN and that the project may eventually include other foreign partners, such as the United Arab Emirates.
Earlier, certain media reports had suggested that Azerbaijan had joined the KAAN program. However, no official announcement has been made in this regard.
In addition, Pakistan is also reportedly exploring acquiring the Turkish KAAN. During the eighth Pak-Turk Industrial Expo Joint Working Group meeting in Pakistan last month, the two sides discussed bilateral defense and industrial cooperation, including a possible deal on Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter jet.
Later, some media reports even suggested that Turkey/Turkiye and Pakistan are reportedly working together to establish and operate a joint factory to produce the KAAN fighter jet. Turkey has also offered the aircraft to Malaysia.
The comments by the TAI CEO suggest that these countries could join the KAAN program as collaborators instead of buying the aircraft off the shelf. However, as noted above, there is no official announcement yet.
Apart from KAAN, the UAE has also expressed interest in other Turkish aerial platforms, including the latest Anka-3 unmanned aerial vehicle and the ATAK helicopter. Additionally, the TAI CEO confirmed that his company has signed a deal with the UAE-based defense firm Calidus to collaborate on the Hurkus training aircraft.
As countries seek to diversify their arsenals to bypass the restrictions associated with purchasing American fighter jets and the delays in delivery associated with Russian aircraft, Turkey is emerging as a credible third alternative.
It has firmly positioned itself as an aviation giant, especially after the combat success of its Bayraktar TB2 drones.
KAAN Is Progressing
KAAN, manufactured by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), made its first flight in February 2024. Later, in May 2024, Turkey announced that at least 20 fifth-generation aircraft would be delivered to the Turkish Air Force by 2028.
Despite being designed as an air-superiority fighter, some experts think the KAAN has evolved into a multi-role fighter that is more similar to the F-35. KAAN is expected to offer “superior capabilities” for air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.
Temel Kotil, the general manager of Turkish Aerospace Industries, made an audacious claim in May 2024 that “this aircraft is better than the (US’s) F-35.”
“The F-35 carries six tons of ammunition; this one carries 10 tons. It has two engines compared to the F-35’s single engine. Having two engines means more energy and radars illuminating a greater distance,” he added.
Kotil also discussed short-term goals for the future: “We will deliver 20 KAAN aircraft in 2028. We’ll deliver many more between 2030 and 2033, and the Turkish fleet will comprise hundreds of KAAN aircraft.”
Underscoring the necessity for the national combat aircraft to be 100% indigenous, he said, “We are also manufacturing the engine; we have to. Hopefully, by 2028-2029, we will fly KAAN with our engine. In such a crucial technology, we cannot be dependent on any other country.”
Despite not being able to match the American F-35 Lightning II’s capabilities, the KAAN offers a cost-effective substitute for nations that are unlikely to be able to purchase the F-35 due to its high price and strict export conditions.
The aircraft is meant to feature standard 5th-generation features such as improved aerodynamics and propulsion, super-cruise, sufficient combat radius (undefined), advanced and internal multi-spectral sensors (EW and RF/IR), low observability, sensor fusion and autonomy, improved data-link capabilities for network-enabled warfare, internal bays, and high-precision stand-off weapons.
The aircraft will be equipped with a sophisticated, active electronically scanned array radar using gallium nitride (GaN) technology, which the Turkish company Aselsan developed. An encrypted data link will connect the aircraft to TAI Anka for manned-unmanned teaming.
The aircraft will use upgraded variants of Aselsan’s radar warning receiver (RWR), missile warning system (MWS), laser warning system (LWS), chaff and flare management, dispensing system, and digital radio frequency memory (DRFM)-based jamming system, which is already deployed with the other air platforms.
Additionally, the KAAN is fast evolving into a technologically advanced platform. The Scientific and Technological Research Council of Türkiye (TUBITAK) AI Institute Director Mehmet Haklidir recently announced that KAAN is expected to be the first fighter jet globally to integrate a machine learning library driven by artificial intelligence into its avionics system. “We are developing a Machine Learning Library for the National Combat Aircraft for the first time in the world for a combat avionics system,” he stated.
According to the latest reports, the second prototype of KAAN is expected to be completed by the end of the year, followed by a third in 2026.
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