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Famous fighter pilot and the first Turkish astronaut to go to space, Alper Gezeravcı, shares his thoughts on the progress of fighter jet and armed drone development in Türkiye.
In an exclusive interview, Defence Connect sits down with the Turkish Air Force fighter pilot, national hero and Türkiye’s first astronaut for the Axiom Mission 3. Gezeravcı spent 21 days in space on the mission during January and February 2024.
Gezeravcı has previously served for more than two decades as a fighter pilot across military aircraft such as the F-16 Fighting Falcon multi-role jet, F-5 Tiger fighter jet, T-38 Talon supersonic jet trainer and KC-135 Stratotanker aerial refuelling tanker aircraft.
The Turkish flight leader and flight safety officer originally attended the Air Force Academy in Istanbul, completing a bachelor of science in electronics engineering. Later he attended the United States Air Force Institute of Technology, completing a master’s degree in operations research.
Gezeravcı initially shared his thoughts about the country’s new TAI Kaan twin-engine, all-weather air superiority fighter jet under development with Turkish Aerospace Industries and designed for export to international markets. The Kaan fighter completed its first flight in 2024.
“It’s always good for any nation, not only Türkiye, but any nation, to have its own sovereign developed fighter jet,” he said on the trade show floor of the 76th International Astronautical Congress (IAC 2025) at Sydney’s International Convention Centre this week.
“It’s a great capability and capacity that the country is able to create these aircraft and move around artificial (international supply chain) obstacles.”
Gezeravcı also confirmed his confidence in the country’s advanced unmanned combat aerial vehicles, such as Baykar’s TB series of drones and the Bayraktar Kızılelma jet-powered stealth unmanned combat aerial vehicle.
The country has made significant inroads in the development and export of armed drones to the Turkish military, Ukraine and Azerbaijan.
“There’s an escalating level of our proficiency in the aviation arena,” Gezeravcı said.
“We are developing aviation to our requirements and needs; it’s absolutely reflecting the required potential in the gap that we have at the moment.”
