Turkey may refuse to buy the latest upgraded F-16V Block 70/72 fighters for $20bn

The saga surrounding Turkey's purchase of upgraded American F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters, which have undergone Viper (Block 70/72) upgrades. The potential deal is estimated at $20bn.

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Turkish senior officials are signalling a possible scrapping of plans to buy Lockheed Martin's latest aircraft. This is because the deal has stalled and Turkey has begun to face economic problems after a string of earthquakes.

Cagri Erhan, presidential adviser for security and foreign policy, recently said the request for the purchase of F-16V Block 70/72 was a mistake. Many Turkish officials agree with this statement, as U.S. lawmakers continue to block the potential sale of the $20 billion fighter jets.

Back in February, Defense Minister Hulusi Akar pointed out that the F-16 was not the only option for the Turkish Air Force. The defence chief stressed that Turkey had hoped for common sense from Washington in this matter.

Turkey is the largest operator of the Fighting Falcon outside the US. Its fleet of fighter jets consists of about 260 aircraft. Some of them are about to turn 30 years old, so Ankara has been thinking about upgrading. Turkey has requested 40 F-16V Block 70/72 fighters and 80 upgrade kits for the older aircraft.

Ankara's first choice initially was the fifth-generation F-35 Lightning II aircraft. But Turkey was dropped from the programme after it bought Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems in 2019.

The defence ministry was considering buying Russian Su-57 fighter jets, but the deal is seen as unlikely amid sanctions that have been imposed on Russia since the invasion of Ukraine. Other options are the Eurofighter Typhoon, Dassault Rafale and J-10.

Source: Shephard Media