Why Has Turkey Scaled Down $23 bln F16 Jet Deal With US?

Turkey has revised its $23 billion plan to acquire an F16 fighter jet package from the United States, opting to forego the purchase of 79 modernization kits for its current fleet, Defense Minister Yasar Guler announced on Tuesday.

Turkey to procure 40 F16 fighter jets

Earlier this year, the NATO member secured an agreement to procure 40 F16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits from the U.S. following a protracted negotiation process.

“An initial payment has been made for the procurement of F-16 Block-70 aircraft. A payment of $1.4 billion has been completed. With this, we will acquire 40 F16 Block-70 Viper jets, and we had planned to purchase 79 modernization kits,” Guler explained during a parliamentary session. “We decided against purchasing the 79 kits. The reason is that our Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) facilities are fully capable of performing this modernization independently, so we deferred to them.”

40 new Lockheed Martin F16 jets to cost $7 billion

The acquisition of the 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16 jets and their associated ammunition is expected to cost Turkey approximately $7 billion, Guler added.

Turkey initially placed its order in October 2021, two years after being expelled from the U.S. F-35 fighter jet program due to its procurement of a Russian missile defense system.

Turkey likely to rejoin the F35 program

Guler also expressed Turkey’s interest in rejoining the F-35 program and acquiring 40 new F-35 jets. Currently, Turkey operates one of the largest fleets of F-16s, with over 200 older models, including Block 30, 40, and 50 variants.

Additionally, Ankara is exploring the purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon jets, manufactured by a consortium of Germany, the United Kingdom, Italy, and Spain. Simultaneously, it is advancing the development of its indigenous combat aircraft, KAAN.

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