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Turkey In development Turkish Aerospace Industries
TAI Kaan
Turkey's indigenous fifth-generation stealth fighter program, intended to replace the Turkish Air Force's F-16 fleet with a twin-engine, low-observable multirole aircraft. The prototype first flew in February 2024, with serial production planned toward the end of the decade.
In service since 2024
Compiled from public sources ·primary reference ↗ ·last verified 2026-07-02
1,100
km range
16,800
m ceiling
1.1
T/W
Pricing: Unit cost not publicly disclosed; program in development
Procurement snapshot
Availability & export
Türkiye export-licensed
SSB-administered; growing export programme, some Western sub-component dependencies.
Channel: Direct commercial / G2G
Fielded & proven
Operator data not public
In service since 2024. Status: announced.
Lifecycle cost (est.)
No public unit price to model from.
Interoperability
No standardised NATO calibre / datalink detected in public specs.
Derived guidance from public data — export regime by country of origin, lifecycle from the GAO ~30% acquisition rule. Verify eligibility, pricing and offsets with the manufacturer and your acquisition authority.
Full specifications
Performance
Speed, range, altitude and engagement capability.
- Max speed (Mach)
Maximum speed as a multiple of the speed of sound. Mach 2+ is typical for air-superiority fighters.
- 1.8 Mach Stronger than 31% of fighters
- Range
Maximum distance: ferry range for aircraft, operational range for vehicles, maximum engagement distance for missiles. Higher means more standoff or persistence.
- 1,100 km Bottom 2% of fighters
- Service ceiling
Maximum operating altitude. Higher gives energy advantage and sensor horizon.
- 16,800 m Stronger than 49% of fighters
- Thrust-to-weight
Engine thrust divided by loaded weight. Above 1.0 the aircraft can accelerate going straight up.
- 1.1 Stronger than 84% of fighters
Firepower
Armament, payload and guidance.
- Hardpoints
External stations for weapons and pods. More means bigger and more flexible loadouts.
- 6 Bottom 5% of fighters
Physical
Dimensions, weight and crew.
- Length
Overall length including gun/probe where applicable.
- 21 m
- Wingspan
Wingtip-to-wingtip span.
- 12 m
- Combat weight
Fully loaded weight. Lighter eases transport and bridging limits; heavier often means more armor.
- 27,200 kg
- Crew
Personnel required to operate. Fewer reduces exposure; autoloaders trade a loader for mechanical complexity.
- 1
Propulsion
Engine, power and fuel.
- Engine
Powerplant model and type.
- 2× General Electric F110 (interim); domestic engine planned
- Engines
Number of engines. Twin-engine gives redundancy at higher cost.
- 2
- Propulsion type
Turbofan, turboshaft, diesel, gas turbine, solid-fuel rocket, ramjet…
- Turbofan, afterburning
Sensors & avionics
Radar, sensor suite and datalinks.
- Radar
Primary radar. AESA (active electronically scanned array) is the current state of the art.
- AESA radar (domestic, in development)
- Sensors
IRST, EO/IR turrets, laser designators, sniper pods, thermal sights.
- internal weapons bay, sensor fusion suite
Specifications compiled from public Turkish Aerospace Industries and reference sources ↗. Published defense figures are approximations — treat comparisons as directional. Last verified 2026-07-02.
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What is the range of the Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan? +
The Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan has a maximum range of 1,100 km.
How much does the Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan weigh? +
The Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan has a combat weight of 27,200 kg.
How many crew does the Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan require? +
The Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan requires a crew of 1.
What engine does the Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan use? +
The Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan is powered by the 2× General Electric F110 (interim); domestic engine planned.
What is the Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan used for? +
The Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan is a fighter aircraft typically used for air superiority.
How much does the Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan cost? +
Turkish Aerospace Industries TAI Kaan: Unit cost not publicly disclosed; program in development. Defense program costs are rarely fully public and vary by contract and configuration.
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