Latest news with #Demiroğlu
Yahoo
12-06-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
First KAAN export prospect: Turkey to deliver 48 jets to Indonesia
ISTANBUL — Turkey and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding for the sale of 48 units of the future fifth-generation KAAN fighter aircraft during the INDO Defence 2025 exhibition held in Indonesia. The signing of the agreement was announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 11 in a post on X. The signing ceremony took place that day in Jakarta, with the participation of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Turkish President of Defence Industries Haluk Görgün, Indonesian Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Chairman of TUSAŞ Ömer Cihad Vardan, Deputy Minister of National Defense and Vice Chairman of the TUSAŞ Board of Directors Şuay Alpay, and TUSAŞ CEO Mehmet Demiroğlu. According to TUSAŞ, the agreement also includes significant technology-transfer components in the field of aviation, leveraging Indonesia's industrial infrastructure and production capacities for the KAAN program. This agreement marks the first export deal for the aircraft, which is still in the development stage. TUSAŞ aims to start delivering the plane for the Turkish Air Force in 2028. The prototypes of Kaan and the first batch of low initial production will be powered by a General Electric F110, an afterburning turbofan jet engine. The aim is to replace this engine with a Turkish one by 2032. Turkish engine manufacturer TUSAS Engine Industries Inc. (TEI) is developing the TF-35000 engine, specially designed for the KAAN fighter. The new turbofan engine will produce 35,000 lbf of thrust. Each aircraft will be equipped with two engines. Mr. Demiroğlu stated in a post on X that the KAAN aircraft to be delivered to Indonesia would be powered by indigenous Turkish engines. Speaking about the Indonesian project, Mr. Demiroğlu said that these deliveries would come later, hopefully in the 2030s. 'Our planned delivery schedule currently includes our own indigenous engine. Right now, we're talking about 48 aircraft. Of course, depending on what's included in the package, this number could change. We estimate the total will end up somewhere between 12 and 15 billion dollars,' he said.
Yahoo
05-05-2025
- Automotive
- Yahoo
Vendor vows to hasten Turkey's fifth-generation ‘Kaan' fighter plane
ISTANBUL — Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) is working to expand flight testing and accelerate prototype production of the Kaan aircraft. The company says it now aims to deliver the first aircraft to the Turkish Air Force by the end of 2028. Speaking on the sidelines of the Teknofest aerospace and technology festival in an interview with Turkey's public broadcaster TRT, TUSAŞ CEO Mustafa Demiroğlu provided an update on the project's progress. According to Demiroğlu, assembly of the second and third prototypes is underway, with four aircraft planned in total for the test campaign – three to be used for flight trials and one for ground testing. 'The second prototype will be completed early next year and begin flight testing,' Demiroğlu said. 'We've now ignited the afterburner on the first aircraft. We are awaiting its third flight – perhaps in August or before October. But it's still too early to confirm.' The prototypes of Kaan and the first batch of low initial production will be powered by a General Electric F110, an afterburning turbofan jet engine. The aim is to replace this engine with a Turkish one by 2032. Demiroğlu noted that the second prototype will incorporate design revisions based on lessons learned from the first aircraft, including external shaping and internal structural improvements. 'The second prototype will look slightly different from the outside – particularly around the air inlets – but the overall size remains the same,' Demiroğlu explained. 'Internally, we've made weight and balance optimizations.' Known initially as TF-X, the Kaan program is Turkey's most ambitious aerospace project. Designed to replace the Turkish Air Force's aging fleet of F-4E Phantoms and eventually its F-16s, Kaan is intended to match the performance and survivability of other fifth-generation platforms. Key features of the fighter plane include low radar cross-section shaping, internal weapons bays, supercruise capability, and a domestically developed avionics suite. The aircraft's first prototype completed its maiden flight in February 2024. Currently, Kaan is the only fighter project in Europe boasting a fifth-generation label with a flying prototype. Demiroğlu emphasized that the Kaan will eventually be produced at scale to meet the operational needs of the Turkish Air Force. 'We aim to begin deliveries by the end of 2028,' he said. 'Kaan is a national project that we are developing with Turkish engineers and technicians, for the future security and independence of our country.'
