Turkey’s first fifth-gen Kaan fighter takes flight

Turkey’s first domestically developed manned combat aircraft – which is now dubbed the Kaan (formerly known as the TF-X) – graced the skies for the first time on February 21, when it completed its maiden flight from Akinci Air Base near Ankara. Barbaros Demirbaş, a test pilot working for Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ), was in the cockpit of the Kaan prototype when the domestically produced fifth-generation fighter took off from Akinci for its maiden flight on February 21. The new