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Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are prepared to launch joint investment in the KAAN fifth-generation stealth fighter jet project at any moment, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced, revealing that the two nations signed major defense industry cooperation agreements during his recent visit.
Speaking to reporters on his return flight from Cairo, Erdogan said Türkiye's indigenous stealth fighter has received widespread praise from international partners.
"KAAN is not just a fighter jet. KAAN is a symbol of Türkiye's engineering capability and independent defense will," Erdogan said.
"We have received a lot of positive feedback on KAAN. There is a joint investment with Saudi Arabia in this area, and we can implement this partnership at any moment," he noted.
The Turkish president emphasized that Ankara and Riyadh signed major defense industry cooperation deals during his visit, expressing Ankara's determination to expand them further.
"The progress our country has made in the defense industry is being followed with interest by Saudi Arabia, just as it is by the whole world," he said, adding that, "We are signing important cooperation agreements with Saudi Arabia in the defense industry, and we are determined to develop this."
Erdogan highlighted the cultural and historical foundations of Turkish-Saudi relations as the basis for expanding defense cooperation.
"We have deep-rooted relations with Saudi Arabia that have cultural and historical dimensions. We signed important agreements during this visit to develop this," the Turkish president said.
"We are focused primarily on meeting our own needs in the defense industry. In addition, we are also making efforts to meet the needs of our friends and brothers," he added.
The president noted that as Türkiye gains greater influence in the global defense sector, such partnerships will certainly increase.
The KAAN Development Project, led by Turkish Aerospace as the main contractor, aims to produce a domestically designed and developed fighter aircraft to replace F-16 jets scheduled for gradual phase-out starting in the 2030s.
Ankara aims to obtain advanced technologies with KAAN, including low observability, internal weapon bays, high maneuverability, enhanced situational awareness and sensor fusion.
Türkiye is positioning itself among the limited number of nations capable of producing fifth-generation fighter jets alongside the United States, Russia, and China.
The Turkish Fighter KAAN Development Project Agreement was signed with the Presidency of Defense Industries on Aug. 5, 2016.
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Turkish Aerospace is maximizing the use of national resources to enhance the country's knowledge and experience in fighter jet design, production, integration, certification, maintenance and sustainment.
KAAN completed its maiden flight on Feb. 21, 2024, staying airborne for 13 minutes and reaching an altitude of 8,000 feet at 230 knots.
The second test flight took place on May 6, 2024, lasting 14 minutes with the aircraft climbing to 10,000 feet.
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