KAAN vs F-35: Deputies Argued on Air About Fighter Jet Superiority

During the program Aktual gündəm ("Current Agenda") on Baku TV, a heated discussion broke out between Members of the Milli Majlis Hikmet Babaoglu and Elman Nasirov over the Turkish national combat aircraft KAAN and the American fifth-generation fighter F-35 Lightning II.

The main question that became the bone of contention in the studio was: is the Turkish KAAN capable of reaching the level of the F-35, and which fighter surpasses its rival in current technical specifications?

Speaking on the program, Hikmet Babaoglu stated that such a comparison should be based exclusively on technical data rather than emotions.

"We all love Turkey very much. Each of us would like KAAN to be more powerful than the F-35. But let's state specific figures, let our viewers know what technical parameters exist. You cannot lie to the people," the parliamentarian emphasized.

And indeed, if one turns to the numbers, the gap is still noticeable. The F-35 is equipped with a Pratt & Whitney F135 engine with a thrust of approximately 19,500 kgf, has a combat radius exceeding 1,000 km, and is capable of carrying weapons in internal bays, ensuring minimal radar signature. The aircraft has undergone thousands of hours of flight testing and is already in service with more than 10 countries worldwide.

KAAN, developed by the Turkish company Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), is still in the testing phase. The first prototype has completed only a few test flights, and serial production is planned no earlier than 2028-2029. Nevertheless, the Turkish side has announced high ambitions: speeds of up to Mach 1.8, stealth technology, and the ability to integrate with domestically produced weapons.

Elman Nasirov, for his part, approached the issue from a geopolitical perspective, viewing the situation through the lens of a transitional period in the development of Turkey's defense industry.

According to him, Turkey's interest in the F-35 should be regarded not as an acknowledgment of the KAAN project's weakness, but as a natural stage in the development of the national defense industry.

"Turkey needs the F-35 because it is a modern weapon. Possessing the F-35 could, in the long run, make KAAN even more powerful," Nasirov stated.