According to an article in Spanish media, a senior defence official from Türkiye stated that the country has begun developing a sixth-generation fighter jet that will be integrated with artificial intelligence (AI).
Haluk Görgün, President of Defence Industries, said that Kaan, the indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet, will make its maiden flight "very soon."
Kaan, one of the most important military projects in Turkish history, successfully completed its first taxi test in mid-March last year.
Görgün noted that mass production of the Kaan fighter jet will begin in 2028, with homegrown engines powering the aircraft.
Kaan is designed to replace the aging F-16 fighter jets in the Turkish Air Force inventory.
Kaan puts Türkiye among the few countries with the infrastructure and technology to produce fifth-generation fighter jets.
Haluk Görgün further stated, "Kaan is a fifth-generation fighter jet, and we are already working on the sixth-generation version. The fifth-generation jet is defined by stealth. The fifth-generation includes all subsystems and sensor fusions. The 6th generation includes integration with artificial intelligence. We will be flying the fifth-generation soon. Mass production of the first blocks will start in 2028. Meanwhile, we had to work hard to avoid missing the sixth generation, which we did and are still working on."