KAAN of skies heads to the runway in Turkiye

By Canberk Do?an

The last of the good news in defense was the National Combat Aircraft (NCA). The NCA, which will be the main combat force of our Air Force, came out of the hangar and headed to the runway. Explaining that the NCA was named KAAN, President Erdo?an said, "Imagine such a plane that it will enter the enemy's lair in a war environment without being seen by radars. Then he will quietly return to his base. KAAN is the name of this plane,” he said.

Turkiye experienced a historic day in the field of defense and aviation. Turkish domestic warplane and HÜRJET took to the runway together. President Recep Tayyip Erdo?an announced that the name of the National Combat Aircraft is KAAN.

Participating in the Century of the Future Promotion Program held at the Kahramankazan Central Campus of Turkish Aviation and Remote Industry (TUSA?), Erdo?an gave instructions to act by connecting to the pilots of HÜRJET and NCA after he came to the podium. HURJET and NCA taxied on Erdogan's instruction. After HÜRJET came to the stage, NCA with KAAN written on its body completed its taxi at the designated spot in front of the stage.

Plate for pilots

After the engine shutdown of KAAN and HÜRJET, Erdo?an said, “Right now, HÜRJET and our KAAN are in front of us. When I saw both of them before me, I remembered these lines of Yahya Kemal and read the poem “This storm is the Turkish army, Oh GODi.” HÜRJET Test Pilot Ercan Çelik and KAAN's Test Pilot Gokhan Bayramoglu, who came to the podium, presented their helmets and veils, and Erdo?an presented plaques to the pilots.

We are in every area

Stating that today is one of the historical days in the field of defense and aviation, Erdo?an said that in the last months, they have been giving good news in the defense industry that has made the nation happy.

“Among these is the addition of our TCG Anadolu ship to our navy. There is a successful launch of our IMECE satellite into space. There is the delivery of our Altay tank to our Armed Forces for testing. Our GOKBEY helicopter is flying with a domestic engine. For the first time, a torpedo has been fired from an unmanned naval vehicle. Thank God, we exist on land, on the sea and under the sea, in the air, in space, in every area. Today, we are in front of our nation with a new phase of our projects. I hope we will see many more tomorrow," he said.

Name Father State

“As the main combat force of our Air Force, we took our National Combat Aircraft out of the hangar and built a runway head. We performed the first flight of our HÜRJET. We launched ATAK 2, which we can call the brother of our ATAK attack helicopter, for the first time. Our ANKA-3, the world's first flying unmanned aerial aircraft, made its first walk. We named our National Combat Aircraft KAAN. His name is also Devlet Bey. But we still have a long way to go. In the coming years, we will continue to instill trust in friends and fear in the enemy by equipping our army with these planes, UAVs and helicopters.”

It will enter enemy's lair without being see on the radars

“KAAN is before our eyes with all its glory. Very soon it will fly too. It will enter the enemy's lair without being seen by the radars in the war environment. He will open the gun slot and drop his missile and bomb on the enemy. Our country's own engineers will build this plane, and our own pilots will fly it. KAAN is the name of this aircraft. All of the main mission systems will be domestic and national. KAAN will fly with our own weapons, radar, communication, flight, control and mission computers. We will be one of the 5 countries producing this type of 5th generation fighter jet in the world.”

Signature on Trunk

At the ceremony, first HURJET and then KAAN taxied on the runway and greeted President Erdogan. While HÜRJET and KAAN took their places on the runway, KIZILELMA's sister ANKA-3 and ATAK-2 decorated the ceremony area. After signing the fuselage part of the KAAN, President Erdo?an went to the cockpit of the plane and sat in the pilot's seat. It was seen that ROKETSAN's SOM-J was mounted in ANKA, which was equipped with domestic ammunition. There were engineers and technicians of domestic and militia warplanes as well as other TAI employees in the area. In front of the B610 modernization modification hangar, Gökbey's engine was displayed next to the domestic helicopter.

Arm will fly

Stating that K?z?lelma and ANKA-3 will fly autonomously with the KAAN, Erdo?an said, “They will all perform their duties with our domestic ammunition. Thus, we will raise the standards of armed drones to the highest level worldwide. Hürku?, which we have started to produce for friendly and allied countries, has already turned it into an international platform. Soon we are giving the first products to Niger and Chad. We also receive happy news from our national helicopter, Gökbey. Gökbey now flies with a turbine engine designed by our own engineers. Our 10-ton ATAK-2 helicopter has become one of the three countries in the world that can produce helicopters in this class.”

HÜRJET red white

HÜRJET appeared in public for the first time with its new red and white color at the ceremony. Stating that HURJET will train heroic pilots, equip them with weapons and go to the battlefield when necessary, Erdo?an said, “HÜRJET will be able to partially replace the F-16s by equipping it with our own weapons and radars. Very soon, our HÜRJET will join the inventory of our Air Force. Hopefully, we will deploy HÜRJET to our TCG ANADOLU ship as well,” he said.

Keep bothering

Criticizing the opposition that opposes defense projects, Erdogan said, “Every success our country has achieved in the defense industry is disturbed by these, as well as those on the other side of the water. Make no mistake, we will continue to disturb them and those on the other side of the water. Even KAAN and HÜRJET alone are enough to wake up those who accuse us of being disconnected from reality from the dreams they have pinned their hopes on.”