Ankara, a US ally, will not get F-35s but the last generation F-16s as part of a defense deal for the Turkish Air Force.
This was made possible by dropping opposition to Finland and Sweden, but the deal might not get off without a hitch. Sources say that US Senate Committee on Foreign Relations Robert Menendez might block the sale of the fighters via veto.
Turkey To Purchase US F-16s
The reason why the sale of the 4th Gen Fighter as a cheap purchase, which is the next fighter to the US F-15, will be denied to Ankara, reported Military Watch Magazine.
The F-16 entered service in 1978 and is the backbone of the USAF, but it is too old, and the last units were bought in 2005, about 17 years back. The only buyers are the low-end air forces like Bahrain, Jordan, and Slovakia.
Turkey lost a place in the F-35 program after it bought the Russian S-400 air defense systems that caused their ejection from the next-gen aircraft deal, noted Trump White House.
Senator Robert Menendez gave harsh conditions to buy the cheap US fighter by saying to drop the S-400 systems and lessen relations with Russia.
The US even told Erdogan to agree to an impossible demand to give the missile system to the US military or Ukraine; Washington wants to mar Turkey-Russia relations.
Ankara Concentrates on US Equipment
The bigger Israeli fleet has been reduced in size. It is expected to continue to do so when the planes are retired, making US ally Turkey the largest foreign operator of the F-16. Still, the obsolete variants are not the last generation F-16s.
Decreasing units of the US fighter could happen before 2030, compared to the F-15 Eagle used by the air forces of Israel, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, which has more premium equipment; that includes all aspects better than the late Falcon variants.
F-16 variants in Turkish service are far from cutting edge; they have avionics that isn't well adapted for network-centric operations and mechanically scanned array radars that only offer rudimentary electronic warfare countermeasures and situational awareness, noted Air-Force Technology.
The country is not getting F-35s like Greece and even upgraded variants of the F-16. Syria has the S-300 missile defense and better MiG-29SMT fighters with modern radars and advanced R-77 air-to-air missile, which disadvantages Turkey.
Washington used the deal to combat this deficiency of their crucial air forces. This defense deal includes acquiring 40 F-16 Block 70/72 variants with modern EASA radars, also upgrading its current 80-strong fleet with the sensors and avionics of the Block70/72 jets.
Modern AIM-120D air-to-air missile compatibility will also be added to enhanced models, giving Turkish air power a significant boost.
An aging Fighting Falcon Washington has realized will not be a good option for the Eurofighter program or even for Russian fighters who have proven better. Another is to intentionally hobble the Turks with less capable fighters, instead of an F-35 will be an upper hand for the US.
The US ally like Turkey stands shabby treatment by even making it to buy last generation F-16s that are inferior to the Su-35 or newer Russian fighters.
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