Pakistan might follow Azerbaijan’s decision to join Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter jet program named Kaan. At a recent event, Celal Sami Tufekci, deputy defense minister of Turkey, said defense officials will meet with their Pakistani counterparts in the coming weeks to discuss the official participation of the South Asian country.
The Pakistani government has yet to publicly confirm plans to join the program.
Azerbaijan officially became part of the Kaan program during International Defense Industry Fair 2023 held in Istanbul in July. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the move boosts solidarity between the two countries.
Turkey is scheduled to conduct the Kaan aircraft’s first flight in December, but Turkish aerospace and defense expert Cem Dogut does not expect the fighter jet to become operational for another decade or more. He told Breaking Defense that the critical design review phase of the aircraft is not yet over and the final product will likely look significantly different from its early prototypes. The first Kaan prototype was unveiled to the public in January.
Dogut added that Azerbaijan’s and Pakistan’s entry into the program could lead to increased financial investments, industrial collaboration, new technology and manufacturing capability.