Turkey pivots defense strategy: Cancels F‑16 upgrades, eyes F‑35s
Ankara has decided to withdraw from purchasing 79 modernization packages for F-16 aircraft. This announcement was made by Turkey's Defense Minister Yasar Guler, who also stated that the country is interested in acquiring 40 new F-35 fighters.
6:23 AM EST, November 27, 2024
Earlier this year, the United States agreed to supply Turkey with 40 F-16 fighters and 79 kits to upgrade existing F-16 aircraft. This decision followed the U.S. Congress and the State Department's approval, which was previously conditional on Turkey's ratification of Sweden's application for NATO membership.
Change in Turkey's F-16 plans
To fully understand the situation, we need to revisit the fall of 2021. At that time, Ankara requested 40 F-16 Block 70 fighters and 79 modernization kits from Washington to upgrade older F-16 models to the Block 70 standard. This move followed Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 program after purchasing Russian S-400 air defense systems.
The cancellation of the modernization packages does not mean Turkey is abandoning its efforts to upgrade its F-16s. Seeking cost savings, Ankara has decided to rely on its own arms manufacturing capabilities.
"An initial payment has been made for the procurement of F-16 Block-70. A payment of $1.4 billion has been made. With this, we will buy 40 F-16 Block-70 Viper and we were going to buy 79 modernisation kits. We gave up on this 79. This is why we gave up: Our Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) facilities are capable of carrying out this modernisation on their own, so we deferred to them," Guler said, as quoted by Reuters.
Turkey still seeks F-35
The head of Turkey's defense department highlighted that Ankara is interested in rejoining the F-35 program and purchasing 40 new aircraft of this type. According to the Duvar service, the advancement of the ambitious Turkish fifth-generation fighter project, named KAAN, might prompt the U.S. to consider selling F-35s to Turkey.
KAAN is a fighter measuring about 69 feet in length with a wingspan of 46 feet, powered by two General Electric engines. The Turks claim it will allow pilots to reach speeds of approximately 1.8 Mach and operate within a range exceeding 621 miles. The aircraft is expected to feature an AESA radar and advanced navigation functions, and it will be adapted to carry various weapon types. However, its actual capabilities remain untested, unlike the already widely acclaimed F-35 fighter.
As noted by Reuters, Turkey's air fleet, comprising over 200 F-16 fighters in older versions, is one of the largest collections of these aircraft in the world. Ankara's ambitions also extend to the purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon fighters, which are produced by a German-British-Italian-Spanish consortium.
