Why UAE Might Be Interested In Turkey’s Stealth Jet Project

The United Arab Emirates is reportedly interested in potentially working with Turkey on its TAI TF Kaan stealth fighter project. There are several reasons why Abu Dhabi might want to become a partner in this project.

“During high-level discussions, UAE officials expressed interest in Kaan and indicated their willingness to engage with the project,” said Mehmet Demiroglu, the CEO of the state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries, at the IDEX 2025 defense exhibition in Abu Dhabi.

The CEO noted that Turkey is already working with Saudi Arabia on the stealth fighter and that the UAE could become another partner in that ambitious project. TAI aims to deliver 20 Kaan fighters in 2028.

The UAE has long sought a fifth-generation combat aircraft. After signing the Abraham Accords with Israel and establishing diplomatic relations, it secured a deal for 50 F-35 Lightning IIs at the end of the first Trump administration. However, Abu Dhabi suspended negotiations early in the Biden administration, citing its dissatisfaction with Washington’s preconditions over Emirati military-technical cooperation with China.

In September 2024, the UAE said it had no plans to resume F-35 negotiations under a new Trump administration. In the meantime, it made a historical order for 80 4.5-generation Dassault Rafale F4 fighter jets from France, with Dassault Aviation presenting the first Emirati Rafale in late January 2025.

While Saudi Arabia is reportedly interested in acquiring up to 100 Kaans, it’s unclear if the UAE wants the Kaan for its air force. Abu Dhabi has long sought co-production opportunities for such projects.

The Kaan isn’t even the first fifth-generation fighter project the Emirates has purportedly pondered joining.

For example, in 2017, Defense News reported that Russia’s state-owned defense conglomerate Rostec would collaborate with the UAE to develop an unspecified fifth-generation fighter based on the fourth-generation MiG-29 Fulcrum. Russia later unveiled a prototype of its Su-75 Checkmate fighter at the Dubai Airshow in 2021 in an apparent bid to have the UAE join and, most likely, help fund the project, which has dubious prospects at best.

There are presently no indications Abu Dhabi is working with Russia on the Su-75 or any other fifth-generation aircraft, and it seems unlikely that it is.

Furthermore, reports in 2023 suggested the UAE was interested in potentially joining South Korea’s KF-21 Boramae, which, like the Tf Kaan, won’t produce a full-fledged fifth-generation fighter in its initial variants but will contain substantive fifth-generation technologies. It’s unclear if Abu Dhabi is actively pursuing any role in that South Korean project.

The UAE could well seek a role in manufacturing components and subsystems for the Kaan, giving its domestic military industries valuable experience. The Gulf state is already cooperating with Turkey on drones. EDGE Group has partnered with Turkey’s leading drone manufacturer, Baykar, to produce munitions for the homegrown and widely exported Bayraktar TB2. It is already working on integrating its Desert Sting 16 precision-guided munition onto that drone.

Abu Dhabi would likely welcome an opportunity to manufacture more sophisticated parts and weapons for the Kaan. It may seek a role not unlike Turkey’s former one in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program—when ten Turkish companies produced over 900 parts for the worldwide supply chain before Ankara got suspended for buying Russian S-400 missile systems. With Turkey aiming to export the TF Kaan to several countries, the UAE could similarly manufacture numerous spare parts for other operators, bolstering its domestic industries as it awaits an opportunity to acquire a fifth or even sixth-generation fighter.

While the Rafales serve as a formidable 4.5-generation stopgap solution until that day, Emirati defense and technology companies could gain valuable experience working on various aspects of the Kaan program. By doing so, they could better position themselves as a useful partner in an even more advanced next-generation fighter program in the future.

Saudi Arabia wants to join the six-generation UK-Japan-Italy Tempest program, recognizing the increased need to stay ahead of the curve with next-generation aircraft and stealth technology and, of course, putting itself in a position to acquire such aircraft for its air force.

The UAE undoubtedly has similar goals for eventually operating next-generation fighter jets. And with the F-35 deal possibly suspended indefinitely, it’s not inconceivable that Abu Dhabi is already looking ahead to upcoming sixth-generation fighters. Working with Turkey on the Kaan could help give its nascent domestic defense industries the know-how to independently operate, maintain, and possibly produce spare parts for such cutting-edge aircraft when it finally acquires them.