Prior to February 2022, negotiations were underway for Ukraine’s involvement in the Turkish fighter jet project.
Latest News Updates : Work on the engine for the new Turkish aircraft is still being done in Ukraine today. “Ukrainian teams are working and competing for the KAAN project,” CNN Türk spoke with Vasyl Bodnar, the Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey. He points out that collaboration with Ankara is strategically significant and advances Turkey’s and Ukraine’s respective defense capacities.
As Bodnar points out, there has long been talk about Ukraine joining Turkey’s newest fighter aircraft program, and talks had begun prior to the Russian Federation’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine. As Bodnar points out, “there is a kind of consortium of Ukrainian enterprises competing for this engine with other international and domestic manufacturers,” adding that “we can swiftly manufacture equipment with the qualities that are so essential for this airplane,” CNN Türk said.
He highlights the Turkish KAAN aircraft’s competitiveness with the F-35 and F-22 (with in mind that the latter isn’t meant for export). “As we have already said, if we manage to succeed and prevent the influence of third parties both in the East and in the West, we will be one of the strongest in the region,” Bodnar asserts.
In response to the question of whether Ukraine will buy Turkish Kaan fighter jets in the future, he said, “We will not only buy it, but also use it.” We also understand its intended application.”
The Türk Havacılık ve Uzay Sanayii (TUSA\) fifth-generation fighter project, known as KAAN (TF-X), was officially launched in August 2016 with the goal of replacing the F-16. Based on initial plans, 20 aircraft in the Block 1 version will be delivered by air to the Turkish forces in 2028, and production of the aircraft will increase to two per month in 2029.
Recall that before, it was revealed that Turkey had been granted clearance to acquire forty brand-new F-16V fighters and to modernize 79 other aircraft for a total of 23 billion dollars.
Furthermore, the United States is not opposed to Turkey rejoining the F-35 program; however, there is a significant requirement that pertains to Ukraine as well. Presumably, this has to do with the possibility that Ankara will have to give up the S-400 air defense system to Kyiv in exchange for receiving additional anti-aircraft missile systems from the United States.