ISTANBUL — Turkey and Indonesia signed a memorandum of understanding for the sale of 48 units of the future fifth-generation KAAN fighter aircraft during the INDO Defence 2025 exhibition held in Indonesia.
The signing of the agreement was announced by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on June 11 in a post on X.
The signing ceremony took place that day in Jakarta, with the participation of Indonesian President Prabowo Subianto, Turkish President of Defence Industries Haluk Görgün, Indonesian Minister of Defense Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin, Chairman of TUSAŞ Ömer Cihad Vardan, Deputy Minister of National Defense and Vice Chairman of the TUSAŞ Board of Directors Şuay Alpay, and TUSAŞ CEO Mehmet Demiroğlu.
According to TUSAŞ, the agreement also includes significant technology-transfer components in the field of aviation, leveraging Indonesia’s industrial infrastructure and production capacities for the KAAN program.
This agreement marks the first export deal for the aircraft, which is still in the development stage. TUSAŞ aims to start delivering the plane for the Turkish Air Force in 2028.
The prototypes of Kaan and the first batch of low initial production will be powered by a General Electric F110, an afterburning turbofan jet engine. The aim is to replace this engine with a Turkish one by 2032. Turkish engine manufacturer TUSAS Engine Industries Inc. (TEI) is developing the TF-35000 engine, specially designed for the KAAN fighter. The new turbofan engine will produce 35,000 lbf of thrust. Each aircraft will be equipped with two engines.
Mr. Demiroğlu stated in a post on X that the KAAN aircraft to be delivered to Indonesia would be powered by indigenous Turkish engines.
Speaking about the Indonesian project, Mr. Demiroğlu said that these deliveries would come later, hopefully in the 2030s. “Our planned delivery schedule currently includes our own indigenous engine. Right now, we’re talking about 48 aircraft. Of course, depending on what’s included in the package, this number could change. We estimate the total will end up somewhere between 12 and 15 billion dollars,” he said.
Cem Devrim Yaylali is a Turkey correspondent for Defense News. He is a keen photographer of military ships and has a passion for writing about naval and defense issues. He was born in Paris, France, and resides in Istanbul, Turkey. He is married with one son.
