Turkeys domestically developed 5th-generation fighter jet "KAAN" will start flights in December, according to the head of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI).

TAI General Manager Temel Kotil told a television program that they chose Dec. 27, for KAAN's first appearance in Turkish skies, five years earlier than planned.

On Dec. 27, 1919, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, founder of the Republic of Türkiye, and his brothers-in-arms arrived in Ankara, which was one of the watershed moments in the establishment of the independent Turkish republic and the beginning of the War of Independence.

KAAN was originally scheduled to fly with a Turkish engine in 2028, but the process ended faster than they expected, Kotil said.

While the KAAN project began in 2016, TAI was expected to deliver the fighter jets to the Turkish Air Forces Command by 2028.

The 21-meter (about 69-feet) aircraft can reach a maximum speed of Mach 1.8 (2,222 kph) thanks to its twin engines, which can produce 29,000 pounds (13,000 kilograms) thrust each.

The KAAN's capabilities include high situational awareness, optimized pilot workload, combat damage detection, new-generation mission systems, low observability, precision strikes and an internal weapon bay.

The fifth-generation aircraft KAAN was developed by TAI with the aim to replace the Turkish army's aging F-16 fleet.