UPDATE - Türkiye's homegrown fighter jet KAAN conducts maiden test flight

UPDATING WITH DETAILS, REVISES LEDE

By Gokhan Ergocun

ISTANBUL (AA) - The Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) conducted the maiden flight of homegrown fighter jet KAAN on Wednesday in Murted Airfield Airport in the capital Ankara.

The first fifth generation fighter jet manufactured domestically aims to replace the Turkish army's aging fleet.

***Before the maiden flight, KAAN's launch seat tests, full-length static tests, static tests of control surfaces, landing gear tests, avionic system tests, fuel tests, engine start-up tests and taxiing tests have all been carried out.

The flight was made by Turkish test pilot Barbaros Demirbas.

KAAN will be capable of air-to-air combat with new generation weapons and precision strikes from internal weapon mounts at supersonic speed, and will provide increased combat power with AI and neural network support.

The latest development makes Türkiye one of a few countries to own this technology.

The aircraft, for which the project began in 2016, was rolled out in March 2023.

Last year, it left from the hangar.

In May 2023, the name of aircraft was announced by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan as KAAN.