TAI TF-X / Milli Muharip Uçak MMU Kaan

So its shape still could change?

It will indeed, once the wind tunnel in Turkey is completed they will improve upon RCS and aerodynamic design - this will remain confidential, whereas the current flying modelled locally by computers in Turkey as well as in a third party countries wind tunnel.
 
P0 already uses C-Composites. Iirc that "today's announcement" is from late 2022

Not low observable C-composites, a tender was issued for the development of a lighter 'thermoplastic' carbon composite with added low observable characteristics to be used for Block 2 replacing that initially used.
 
BARBAROS DEMİRBAŞ (chief test pilot) interview after first installed engine test last May:

Hopefully we will start modifying her from June onwards and get her ready for flight. This is what we would call a technology demonstrator. We are validating the processes with this aircraft. Because there is intense production and management activities going on. There is a massive organization behind all of this. So this is essentially a trial aircraft. The second prototype which is the P1, will cover the entire envelope. We will start integrating some systems to that airframe. We will achieve 4.5th gen characteristics with our Block 10 aircraft and 5th gen by Block 20's.
 
It will indeed, once the wind tunnel in Turkey is completed they will improve upon RCS and aerodynamic design - this will remain confidential, whereas the current flying modelled locally by computers in Turkey as well as in a third party countries wind tunnel.
I wonder then if the change will be drastic. Maybe much more than yf-22 to f-22?
 
I suppose all will be revealed by the time testing has finnished and the operational KAAN is ready to enter service. It will be interesting to see what happens to KAAN if any changes are needed.
 
BARBAROS DEMİRBAŞ (chief test pilot) interview after first installed engine test last May:
per airforce supercruise falls under 5th gen, so without the TF-35000 it wont be classified as a 5th gen by TurAF. This is like claiming J-20 is not 5th gen because it used Russian and then "4th gen" engines
 
From the Pilot:

- Aircraft was sending over 10.000 real time data to ground

- Test control center consists of 50 engineers from 15 different disciplines. They are able to follow the flight much earlier than I felt or saw.

- They gave clearance to me every stage of flight

- Following pilot monitoring the external view of the aircraft in case of leaking fuel.

- Movement of horizontal stabilizers are normal behavior of control characteristics of aircraft because the flight control computer wants to preserve take off very precisely during low speed and low dynamic pressure.
 
To be fair we don’t know what the criteria for six generation is. Before F-22 was officially unveiled other countries had very different ideas about what next gen fighter is like.
True, some people were saying that the Typhoon was 5th generation due to maneuverability.

Then F-22 made stealth and supercruise the definition of 5th generation.

Kaan is 5th generation shape and systems, the prototype is flying on F100 F110 engines so as a whole the plane is arguably 4.75gen.
 
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True, some people were saying that the Typhoon was 5th generation due to maneuverability.

Then F-22 made stealth and supercruise the definition of 5th generation.

Kaan is 5th generation shape and systems, the prototype is flying on F100 engines so as a whole the plane is arguably 4.75gen.
Ahem. ackchyually the powerplant is F110-GE-129E. It uses the same engine as F-15EX. That's why we sometimes humorously refer to Kaan as a stealth F-15.
 
True, some people were saying that the Typhoon was 5th generation due to maneuverability.

Then F-22 made stealth and supercruise the definition of 5th generation.

Kaan is 5th generation shape and systems, the prototype is flying on F100 engines so as a whole the plane is arguably 4.75gen.
These classifications don't matter since it all comes down to how you market the aircraft. It is the same reason why NG classifies B-21 as 6th gen or why Lockmart calls F-35 with adaptive cycle engines as 5.5th, or why various European manufacturers classify their respective aircraft as 4.5th gen or more (i.e., stealthier).

We haven't even figured out what the difference between 5th and 6th gens is even though there are various programs in active development right now. There's no diffinitive difference between 5th and 6th gens.

How you market your aircraft doesn't matter on the battlefield, what matters in the end is, in simplistic words, the quality and the quantity of your equipment.
 
I really hate that canopy bar. I hope they'll replace it before the serial production. It does a disservice to all other RCS-reducing features of the aircraft.
I believe it is an interim solution and will change later on. It was a last minute hustle to fly this thing to begin with.
 
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Do we have any numbers on how many turky is planning to buy? Presumably more then the 100 f35s they had planed to buy orgonaly.
 
Do we have any numbers on how many turky is planning to buy? Presumably more then the 100 f35s they had planed to buy orgonaly.
250 over at least a 20 year span. 24 per year, initial 10 B10 aircraft to be delivered by 2028.

First 20-40 aircraft are planned to be procured with F110s while the indigenous engine starts flight tests in 2028.
 
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Does anyone have an updated program schedule?

The Kaan flew ahead of this old schedule.

View attachment 720633
It didn't flew "ahead of it's schedule". The aircraft that flew was not meant to fly in the original plan, is not EMD representative and doesn't have any mission critical avionics. TAI claims that the progress of design phase is ahead of initial plan, but that's a separate story.
 
It will indeed, once the wind tunnel in Turkey is completed they will improve upon RCS and aerodynamic design - this will remain confidential, whereas the current flying modelled locally by computers in Turkey as well as in a third party countries wind tunnel.
Good.
Placement of air intakes and cockpit, also nose shape don't look great.
 
It does look a little straighter, which surprises me a bit. At least in terms of seat energetics, you want to have the smallest possible number of different seats in the inventory.

The reason I'm less surprised is that the F-16 seatback angle proved to be less of an advantage in G-tolerance than expected.
 
Single AMRAAM or full F-35 sized?
We still don't have a confirmation of weapon bays config though. It may have changed, the one below was presented during Anatolian Eagle '21.

MMU-Muhimmat-Kapasitesi.jpg
60dd81f047506.jpg 60dd81f047f7d.jpg

These show the aircraft at roughly 18 meter length but we know that since then it became longer and larger/heavier.

For example here's @paralay 's calculation:

235149-fff999168ae4a0d05360d3bdd706ec16.jpg
 
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For example here's @paralay 's calculation:

235149-fff999168ae4a0d05360d3bdd706ec16.jpg
Stop using his wrong calculations. TAI has given official dimensions of 21x14x6. No need for a rando to come up with his own wrong views.
 
Stop using his wrong calculations. TAI has given official dimensions of 21x14x6. No need for a rando to come up with his own wrong views.
Well actually not, official numbers are rounded up. Paralay is actually*nearly* correct with 20.1m length, real length of Kaan atm is around 20.2m
 
Stop using his wrong calculations. TAI has given official dimensions of 21x14x6. No need for a rando to come up with his own wrong views.
Well his position on the Ukr War doesn't matter to me but has anything else happened beside that? I'm also not presenting his calculations as facts, I'm just using it to show that the aircraft enlarged. We have no concrete specs yet.
 
Well actually not, official numbers are rounded up. Paralay is actually*nearly* correct with 20.1m length, real length of Kaan atm is around 20.2m

Well his position on the Ukr War doesn't matter to me but has anything else happened beside that? I'm also not presenting his calculations as facts, I'm just using it to show that the aircraft enlarged. We have no concrete specs yet.
This is so disappointing, but whatever: https://tusas.com/urunler/yeni-projeler/ozgun/kaan
 
You really believe the length is exactly 21 meters, the span is exactly 14 meters, and height is exactly 6 meters?

There is absolutely no doubt that those figures in meters have been rounded, as can be witnessed by the equivalent measurements in feet in brackets also being rounded to non decimal point whole numbers.
 
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You really believe the length is exactly 21 meters, the span is exactly 14 meters, and height is exactly 6 meters?
Could be, but it is closer to 21 than it is to 20 and closer to 14 than 13.

There is absolutely no doubt that those figures in meters have been rounded, as can be witnessed by the equivalent measurements in feet in brackets also being rounded to non decimal point whole numbers.
And if we take the dimensions in ft, it is even larger than 21x14x6...
 

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