TUSAŞ sets out key capabilities of new KAAN prototype, KAAN-1
TUSAŞ (Turkish Aerospace Industries) has disclosed new details about KAAN-1 (P1), the newest prototype of its national combat aircraft KAAN. According to information in the 146th issue of the company’s GÖKVATAN magazine, KAAN-1 stands out for its artificial intelligence integration, advanced avionics architecture and internal weapons bays, as well as its ability to conduct operations while communicating with unmanned aerial vehicles over a shared network.
Internal weapons bays keep a fifth-generation fighter’s radar signature low by allowing munitions to be carried inside the fuselage. The ability to work with unmanned systems over a shared network forms the basis of manned-unmanned teaming (MUM-T). The magazine did not give technical details of these capabilities or specify which missions the artificial intelligence support would be used for.
In the KAAN programme, the first prototype KAAN-0 (P0) carried out flight tests on 21 February 2024 and 6 May 2024. KAAN-1, whose production has been completed, went out onto the runway on 31 July 2026 for its first taxi test. According to TUSAŞ, the test assessed the aircraft’s movement on the runway, engine responses, brake and nose wheel systems, and basic pre-flight functions.
The company aims to add KAAN-1 to the flight test programme once comprehensive ground tests and engineering analyses are complete. The date of KAAN-1’s first flight has not yet been announced.
Related coverage
- What Is the KAAN? Türkiye’s 5th-Generation Indigenous Fighter
- KAAN P1 Prototype Completes Refined Taxi Trials Ahead of First Flight
- Turkey fields domestically powered SOM-B1T cruise missiles as TÜBİTAK SAGE readies an internal-bay variant for KAAN
Source: TUSAŞ, GÖKVATAN Magazine, Issue 146 (2026/3).
