Türkiye inks deal with Indonesia for sale of KAAN fighter jets

ISTANBUL

Türkiye and Indonesia finalized a major defense agreement on July 26 with the signing of a deal for 48 KAAN fighter jets during the International Defense Industry Fair (IDEF) 2025 in Istanbul.

The agreement marked Indonesia as the first international customer for Türkiye’s domestically developed fifth-generation fighter jet.

While the exact financial terms of the contract were not disclosed, Turkish media estimate the deal to be worth around $10 billion.

Under the agreement, the aircraft will be delivered to Indonesia over a 10-year timeline.

The contract also envisions the establishment of new facilities in Indonesia to support local production and technology transfer.

Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), which already maintains a presence in the country, will lead the industrial cooperation and localization efforts.

According to reports, the second and third prototypes of the Kaan jet — which will include internal weapons bays, aerial refueling capabilities and minor structural updates — are expected to fly in April and July 2026, respectively.

Kaan, Türkiye’s flagship fifth-generation combat aircraft, has been in development for nearly a decade. It was officially revealed in 2023 and completed its first test flight in early 2024. Serial production is slated to begin in 2028.

Defense Industries Agency (SSB) President Haluk Görgün highlighted the growing collaboration between Türkiye and Indonesia across multiple defense programs, noting that Indonesian Defense Minister Sjafrie Sjamsoeddin came to IDEF 2025 specifically to finalize the agreement.

Görgün recalled that the two countries had signed a government-to-government memorandum about one and a half months ago.

The contract is considered the largest defense export deal Türkiye has ever made.

Türkiye's fighter jet project has three prototypes; one will be used for land tests and the other two will fly as of April 2026, TUSAŞ CEO Mehmet Demiroğlu said.

He said the first phase for the production of KAAN is about to begin, adding: "We have completed all our work to launch this phase.”

"I don't want to say anything yet, but I can say that you can expect some surprises. All of this shows how far Türkiye has come and how important the KAAN platform is."

“Four countries have built it and there are consortia that are trying to build it; now, a consortium that began with Türkiye and was announced at the Paris Airshow in 2018 is said to be planning its first flight around 2035-2040,” he noted.

Touching on the jet trainer Hürjet’s export deal to Spain, he said there will be a supply agreement in September or October this year with Spain.

In May, Spain signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Türkiye to import Hürjet.