Reuters: Turkey wants to purchase 40 F-16 jets from the US to upgrade Turkey's Air Force.

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wemay

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Reuters: Turkey asks U.S. to buy 40 F-16 jets to upgrade Air Force -sources.

WASHINGTON, Oct 7 (Reuters) - Turkey has made a request to the U.S. to buy 40 Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes, as the NATO ally looks to modernize its Air Force after the purchase of F-35 jets fell through, sources familiar with the matter said.

The deal, worth billions, is still working its way through the Foreign Military Sales process which is subject to approval by the U.S. State Department as well as the U.S. Congress which can block deals.

The people spoke on condition of anonymity to discuss the deal.

"As a matter of policy, the Department does not confirm or comment on proposed defense sales or transfers until they have been formally notified to Congress," a spokesperson for the State Department said. The Turkish Embassy in Washington declined to comment.


Ankara had ordered more than 100 F-35 jets, also made by Lockheed Martin Corp (LMT.N), but was removed from the program in 2019 after it acquired Russian S-400 missile defense systems.

The decades-old partnership between the NATO allies has gone through unprecedented tumult in the past five years over disagreements on Syria policy, Ankara’s closer ties with Moscow, its naval ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean, U.S. charges against a state-owned Turkish bank and erosion of rights and freedoms in Turkey.

The request for the jets will likely have a difficult time getting approval from the U.S. Congress, where sentiment towards Turkey has soured deeply over recent years, primarily due to Ankara's purchase of the S-400s and its problematic human rights track record.

Ankara's purchase of the S-400s has also triggered U.S. sanctions. In December 2020, Washington blacklisted Turkey's Defense Industry Directorate, its chief, Ismail Demir, and three other employees.


Since then the U.S. has repeatedly warned Turkey against buying further Russian weaponry. But last week, Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan indicated Ankara still intended to buy a second batch of S-400s from Russia, a move that could deepen a rift with Washington.

There is bipartisan support in U.S. Congress to push the Biden administration to put further pressure on Ankara, primarily over its purchase of Russian weapons and its human rights track record.

Ankara has said it hopes for better ties under U.S. President Joe Biden.

Reports of the Turkish request were first reported by Greek defense outlet Defense Review.
 
I find it strange that so many Americans get upset that Turkey bought military equipment from Russia but have no qualms that we (the USA) buys virtually everything from communist China.

To the OP....Don't worry...we'll sell Turkey the jets....all those former 'Generals' who now work for
'defense contractors' will make sure it happens....$$$$ talks...
 
I worked for General Dynamics right after college. Turkey has been buying F-16s for decades. Foreign customers get different engines than the ones in the USAF models. The plane has been in production since 1978 and while still quite capable it's not the latest and greatest by a long stretch.

Here's a list of the countries that have F-16s: Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, South Korea, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Venezuela.
 
I would wonder in real life would 100 F16s be better than 30 F35s ?
 
I would wonder in real life would 100 F16s be better than 30 F35s ?

Depends on the purpose I guess. The F-35 is an offensive weapon. Its primary mission is to drop bombs/missiles against surface targets while avoiding being shot down. The F-16 can do that, but certainly not as well as an F-35.
 
I worked for General Dynamics right after college
When I was in college, GD tank (M1A1 Abrams) plant workers took college classes for "further education" or something while they were on temporary layoffs and one of the guys that I became friends with told me about one of the processes for the depleted uranium armor and how it was done in a restricted building. He said the tanks that the US sold to everyone else didn't go to that building.

Here's a list of the countries that have F-16s
I know one of the people that is involved in the program that sells the F-16s. Much of the work is done at WPAFB.
 
I worked for General Dynamics right after college. Turkey has been buying F-16s for decades. Foreign customers get different engines than the ones in the USAF models. The plane has been in production since 1978 and while still quite capable it's not the latest and greatest by a long stretch.

Here's a list of the countries that have F-16s: Bahrain, Belgium, Denmark, Egypt, Greece, Indonesia, Israel, Netherlands, Norway, Pakistan, South Korea, Poland, Portugal, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Turkey, USA, and Venezuela.
They are not our friend but this govt will sell to them.
 
I find it strange that so many Americans get upset that Turkey bought military equipment from Russia but have no qualms that we (the USA) buys virtually everything from communist China.

To the OP....Don't worry...we'll sell Turkey the jets....all those former 'Generals' who now work for
'defense contractors' will make sure it happens....$$$$ talks...

USA didn't sell them patriots either, which prompted them to buy S-400.

Maybe they'll buy Russian or Chinese jets if this doesn't go through
 
When I was in college, GD tank (M1A1 Abrams) plant workers took college classes for "further education" or something while they were on temporary layoffs and one of the guys that I became friends with told me about one of the processes for the depleted uranium armor and how it was done in a restricted building. He said the tanks that the US sold to everyone else didn't go to that building.

Russian tanks have different armor than their export products aswell, it's common practice
 
I find it strange that so many Americans get upset that Turkey bought military equipment from Russia but have no qualms that we (the USA) buys virtually everything from communist China.

To the OP....Don't worry...we'll sell Turkey the jets....all those former 'Generals' who now work for
'defense contractors' will make sure it happens....$$$$ talks...

Some retired Generals are also working at Boeing for the USAF 767 tanker.....
 
It sounds like a good opportunity to study the S-400 up close.
 
They are not our friend but this govt will sell to them.
Turkey is our friend and the "friend" of ALL NATO countries, Turkey is part of NATO which we are the backbone of.
It would be common sense from NATO countries if a member of NATO buys military equipment from one of the countries that NATO protects them from and is the reason for NATO to exist.
 
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