We are awaiting approval from the US for the engines of the National Combat Aircraft KAAN: Foreign Minister Fidan announced

Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan held a press conference in New York, where he was attending the 80th UN General Assembly. In his statement at the meeting, Fidan stated that the licenses for the engines of the KAAN aircraft are pending in the US Congress. Fidan said, "Their licenses are currently stalled. The licenses need to be activated and the engines need to arrive so that the production of the KAANs can begin."

Following his speech, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan answered questions from members of the press. Regarding the question of which issues were brought to the agenda and which were resolved during the meeting between President Erdoğan and US President Trump, Minister Fidan said the following:

"On both sides, both Mr. Trump and Mr. Erdoğan have the will and the intention to completely resolve the problems between the two countries. These problems should be handled in different categories. Some are pre-existing problems, some are issues dependent on the conjuncture, and some are issues inherent in the nature of politics.

We have seen that Mr. Trump has shown the will to resolve problems in matters based on bilateral relations. Our President also has great powers of persuasion on this issue.

If we make the events concrete, there is the CAATSA issue. CAATSA is a major problem for us in this way. It is a systemic event that there is a legal restriction between two NATO member countries that prevents them from buying something from each other.

Currently, there are the engines of the KAAN that we are waiting to receive. It is currently waiting in the US Congress. Their licenses are stalled. Their licenses also need to be activated and the engines need to arrive so that the production of the KAANs can begin.

While all of these are technical issues, the existence of restrictions in our relations with the US will inevitably push us into different searches in the international system.

We are developing our own capabilities, there is no problem with that, but no country is self-sufficient with the capabilities it develops on its own."

WE HAD SOLD 48 UNITS TO INDONESIA

While Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan announced that the US Congress has not provided the engines for the KAAN and that production cannot begin for this reason, it was announced on July 26, 2025, that Turkish Aerospace Industries had sold 48 KAAN aircraft to Indonesia, and a signing ceremony was held in Jakarta.