Indonesia signs 10bn deal to buy 48 Turkish Kaan fighter jets

Indonesia will purchase 48 Kaan fifth-generation fighter jets from Turkey in a deal valued at more than $10bn, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced on Wednesday.

The agreement was signed at the Indo Defence 2025 exhibition in Jakarta, which has been attended by Turkish defence firms.

The deal will span 10 years and includes the co-production of some Kaan jet components in Indonesia.

Erdogan thanked his Indonesian counterpart, Prabowo Subianto, describing the agreement as the largest defence industry export deal in Turkey’s history.

Yusuf Akbaba, a Turkish defence industry expert, said the deal is a landmark for the Kaan project, noting that Ankara would have struggled to fund the development of the fifth-generation aircraft alone.

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“To reduce costs, it is essential to increase the number of orders,” Akbaba told Middle East Eye. “As the number of units increases, the per-unit price of the aircraft decreases.”

Akbaba believes Indonesia’s participation could attract interest from Islamic countries and other states in the Asian market.

“Countries like Qatar, Azerbaijan, Saudi Arabia, and a few others are also considering acquiring the aircraft,” he said.

“After this order from Indonesia, procurement processes in those countries may also accelerate.”

Azerbaijan announced last year that it would participate in the project, while reports in January indicated that Saudi Arabia was interested in becoming a partner, although that has not yet materialised.

For Jakarta, the Kaan would help to replace its dated F-16 fleet and also fill a gap left after it parted ways with South Korea on its KF-21 project.

Experts say the KF-21 is not a genuine fifth-generation aircraft, while the Kaan features some sixth-generation capabilities, such as AI integration and drone teaming.

Turkey has been developing a fifth-generation aircraft since 2010, but the project accelerated after Ankara was removed from the F-35 programme by the US in 2019 over its purchase of the Russian-made S-400 missile system.

The Kaan made its maiden flight in February 2024, temporarily using two General Electric F110-GE-129 engines, the same as those found in Turkish F-16s.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which is leading the Kaan project, is working on a locally produced engine for the aircraft.

The company aims to deliver the first plane to the Turkish Air Force by the end of 2028, although some analysts predict this might be delayed until 2030.

The first 10 Kann Block-1 fighter jets are scheduled to be delivered to the Turkish Air Force between 2030 and 2033.

middleeasteye.net