Hakan Dağdeviren, the Turkish Foreign Minister, announced that the US Congress has suspended the export of General Electric's F110 turbofan engines to Turkey's "Kaan" fighter jet, which poses a major obstacle to Turkey's fifth-generation aircraft development program.
Although Turkey will eventually replace the American F110 engines with its domestically developed TF35000 turbofan engines to make the production of the "Kaan" fighter jet independent, the development of the domestic TF35000 turbofan engine is still far from completion. Turkish media believe that the reason for the sudden move by the United States is still Turkey's purchase and deployment of the Russian S-400 air defense missile system, so the United States has been imposing sanctions on Turkey. Although the US government approved the delivery of new F-16 fighter jets to Turkey in 2024, it still strictly controls the provision of high-tech weapons and related subsystems to Turkey.
Turkey's foreign minister is worried about the US's move, but Haluk Görgün, the director of the Turkish Defense Industry Administration, insisted that the "Kaan" fifth-generation aircraft project will not face delays and emphasized the plan for supplier diversification. However, the reality is that the US's move will inevitably affect the test plan, delivery plan, and export commitments of the "Kaan" fighter jet. Because the engine is the "heart" of the aircraft, without an engine, there's nothing to play with.
Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1844694132939788/
Statement: This article represents the views of the author himself.