Türkiye to Partner with Saudi Arabia in Fifth-Generation Combat Aircraft Programme

Türkiye and Saudi Arabia are embarking on an ambitious programme to jointly develop the KAAN fifth-generation fighter aircraft, and a deal for industrial cooperation was signed by the two nations when President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during his recent visits abroad.

On his return from a Cairo visit, Erdogan announced that Türkiye and Saudi Arabia would invest in the Turkish indigenous fifth-generation aircraft programme that has received global attention.

Türkiye would become the fourth nation or grouping that has launched the development project for a fifth-generation combat aircraft after the US, Europe, China and India.

With both Türkiye and Saudi Arabia having strong defence cooperation agreements with Pakistan, this Turkish-Arabian joint advanced combat project could be offered to Islamabad too, and this could have serious strategic implications for India.

Already, Pakistan has bought and deployed Turkish military platforms including drones that were used during the May 2025 Indian military operations against Pakistan defence facilities and in its counter-attack on Indian civilian infrastructure along the Line of Control.

“KAAN is not just a fighter jet. KAAN is a symbol of Türkiye’s engineering capability and independent defence will. 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,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by a Turkish media platform.

“The progress our country has made in the defence 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 defence industry, and we are determined to develop this.”

Noting that Türkiye was gaining influence through its defence industry worldwide, he said the aircraft project partnership with Saudi Arabia would increase the Turkish military industrial capability’s image abroad greatly.

Led by the Turkish Aerospace industry, the KAAN development project, approved in 2016, aimed to design, develop, and manufacture an indigenous advanced fighter jet to replace the existing Turkish air force fleet of American F-16s from Lockheed Martin that are to be retired from 2030.

Under the project, Türkiye aspires to acquire advanced combat aircraft technologies such as stealth, low observability, internal weapon bays, high agility, sensor fusion, and enhanced situation awareness, the reports said.

KAAN’s maiden flight happened in February 2024, staying airborne for 13 minutes, achieving speeds of 230 knots, and touching an altitude of 8,000 feet. The aircraft was flight tested again in May 2024, when it flew for 14 minutes at 10,000 fleet altitude.