Turkish Aerospace released video footage on July 31, 2026, showing the KAAN P1 fighter prototype completing its first taxi test at the company facility in Ankara. During the low-speed test, the prototype moved under its own power on the runway, representing a key milestone in ground testing for the aircraft program.
The P1 prototype, together with the P2 prototype, represents one of two new airframes built by Turkish Aerospace to handle the bulk of the fifth-generation fighter jet flight test campaign. Both P1 and P2 were publicly displayed in Ankara on February 13, 2026, and were developed incorporating feedback gathered from earlier demonstrator test flights.
Speaking at the Farnborough International Airshow held from July 20 to 24, 2026, Turkish Aerospace president and CEO Mehmet Demiroglu stated that P1 is expected to make its first flight within the next couple of months pending completion of ground and system-level tests. He added that P2 is scheduled to follow before the end of 2026, with both airframes flying alongside each other by year-end.
Prior to the assembly of P1 and P2, the program relied on the initial demonstrator designated P0 to validate basic flight characteristics and flight control systems. P0 carried out runway and taxi trials in March 2023 and completed two flights in 2024, including a May 6 flight where it remained airborne for 14 minutes and reached an altitude of 10,000 feet. The P0 airframe has since been reassigned to ongoing ground and system-level testing.
As AeroTime reported, the completion of the first taxi test by the KAAN P1 prototype advances the test schedule as Turkish Aerospace prepares the fifth-generation fighter for its upcoming flight testing phase.
