Turkey will receive latest upgraded F-16 Viper Block 70/72 fighters

The saga of the sale of Turkey's Generation 4++ F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters upgraded to Block 70/72 (Viper) seems never to end. The day before, the story got a sequel.

Here's What We Know

"Turkey should get upgraded F-16 fighter jets." This statement was made by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken during a speech before the House Foreign Affairs Committee.

According to Blinken, Turkey should receive both new fighters and an upgrade package for the planes that are already in service with the country's Air Force. The secretary of state said the sale of F-16s to Turkey was important for NATO, too.

Turkey wanted to buy 40 F-16V Block 70/72 fighters and 80 kits to upgrade the older planes. The potential deal is estimated at $20bn. However, the country's officials recently said Turkey may find an alternative to the US fighters as the deal has been very much delayed.

Ankara had previously ordered more than 100 F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation fighter jets and invested $1.4bn in the development of the new aircraft. However, Turkey was excluded from the programme in 2019 as it purchased Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.

The Turkish authorities called this decision unfair and demanded a refund of the payment. Later, the government made a request for the purchase of upgraded F-16s.

As for the Block 70/72 level fighters themselves, the first of these was officially unveiled a fort night ago in the US. Lockheed Martin held a presentation of the F-16V in South Carolina. The novelty was one of 16 aircraft for the Royal Bahrain Air Force.

The Lockheed Martin plant in South Carolina already has a plan to produce 147 Block 70/72 level fighters. The upgraded aircraft are equipped with an AN/APG-83 active phased array radar from Northrop Grumman, a Link 16 communications system, a General Electric F110-GE-129 engine and a new collision warning system.

Source: Daily Sabah