ANKARA (Reuters) – Turkey has decreased its deliberate $23 billion acquisition of an F-16 fighter jet bundle from the USA, scrapping the acquisition of 79 modernisation kits for its current fleet, Defence Minister Yasar Guler mentioned late on Tuesday.
NATO member Turkey earlier this yr secured a deal to acquire 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernisation kits for its current F-16s from the USA, after a long-delayed course of.
“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,” Guler informed a parliamentary listening to.
“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,” he mentioned.
The sale of the 40 new Lockheed Martin (NYSE:) F-16 jets and ammunition for them will value Turkey some $7 billion, Guler added.
Turkey positioned its order in October 2021, two years after the USA kicked the nation out of the fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet program over its procurement of a Russian missile defence system.
Turkey needs to re-join the F-35 programme and purchase 40 new F-35 jets, Guler additionally mentioned.
Turkey is among the largest operators of F-16s, with its fleet made up of greater than 200 older Block 30, 40 and 50 fashions.
Ankara can be inquisitive about shopping for Eurofighter Storm fighter jets, constructed by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain.
It’s also growing its personal fight plane, KAAN.
