Turkish Aerospace reveals name of national combat aircraft as KAAN

“His name is Kaan, let his sword be sharp,” TAI tweeted on 1 May, alongside a picture of the new TF-X fighter. Kaan is the Turkish language rendering of “khan” – the English equivalent of great khan or king of kings. Notably, the twin-engined aircraft was developed and produced almost entirely at home, with the Turkish government claiming the aircraft is roughly 80% domestically sourced. The prototype version is powered by two GE Aerospace F110 engines, which are already assembled under license in Turkey to support the country’s fleet of Lockheed Martin F-16s.