Turkey is widely known to have a huge problem in its economy, despite the recent stimulus injections from the UAE and Saudi Arabia, so that even the continuation of the development programme of the 5th generation KAAN national fighter aircraft is in trouble.
In a recent article we pointed out that Turkey-Azerbaijan signed a cooperation protocol for the Turkish KAAN fighter aircraft, with Ankara looking forward to Baku funding the project.
Azerbaijan also joined the KAAN fighter construction project
Now as it seems Turkey is also 'roasting' Pakistan to join the KAAN fighter production 'dance', as an article in a reputable Turkish media, titled "Pakistan is on the way to cooperate with Turkey on National Combat Aircraft" points out:
"Deputy Minister of National Defence Celal Sami Tüfekçi announced the development. Tariq, the fourth and final corvette built under the PN MİLGEM project, was laid down today in Karachi, Pakistan. Delivering a speech at the ceremony, Deputy Minister of National Defence Celal Sami Tüfekçi made important remarks on the National Combat Aircraft Programme.
In a statement Tüfekçi said, "We will soon meet with our Pakistani counterparts to formally include Pakistan in our National Combat Aircraft (KAAN) Program this month. Right now, 200 officials are already participating in the development programme."
On the sidelines of IDEF'23, Azerbaijan decided to join the National Combat Aircraft Program and a cooperation agreement was signed. The first foreign country participating in the programme was therefore Azerbaijan.
On the other hand, at the IDEF'23 exhibition last week, TAI signed a cooperation agreement with Pakistan Aeronautical Complex Kamra for the production of structural parts (hangers).
MMU KAAN (TF-X) detailed project schedule
The date on which the initial requirements, the National Combat Aircraft KAAN, were met was 2018. Under Phase-1 Phase-1, KAAN preliminary design activities were conducted between 2018-2022.
Under Phase-1 Phase-2, the detailed design and certification activities of the MMU KAAN will be carried out between 2022-2029. Towards this end, the KAAN left the hangar in 2023 and the target is to produce 3 prototypes by 2026.
The Block-10 configuration, which will be delivered to the Air Force Command, is expected to be deployed by 2029; 10 TF-X Blok-1 fighters produced under Phase-2 will be delivered to Turkish Air Force between 2030-2033. However, this date announced by the Turkish Air Force was revised to 2028 by TAI.
Under Phase-3 between 2034-2040, development and mass production activities of other TF-X blocks will be carried out. This date was revised to 2030 by TAI."
Conclusion
It is well known that Turkey and Pakistan have developed special relations at the military level, with Pakistani special forces participating in the Turkish inter-agency TAMS exercise "Blue Homeland 2022", which targets our islands in the Aegean Sea, while Pakistani fighter jets have been participating for several years in the International Air Exercise "AETOS OF ANATOLIAS" where they are co-training with the Turkish Air Force, while today the MILGEM programme was completed with the acquisition of the 4th corvette of Turkish origin by the Pakistani Navy.
Turkey is also looking to Pakistan and Azerbaijan for international recognition of the pseudo-state in Cyprus, while Erdogan is keen to acquire nuclear weapons, seeking the help of "Nuclear Pakistan" tooth and nail.
Finally, we see that with the actual co-production of the Turkish Kaan fighter with Azerbaijan and Pakistan, the Turkish President is attempting, apart from the obvious, i.e. to find financial sponsors for its construction and buyers afterwards, to tighten his relations with these two countries to a much greater extent, thus creating a "trilateral defence axis", which is not at all pleasant for Greece and Cyprus.
