Experts suggest no easy path forward for Turkish F-16 deal
Mock-up of a Royal Bahraini Air Force F-16 Block 70 aircraft. (Photo: Lockheed Martin)
As reports emerge linking Turkey with an order of new F-16 aircraft from the US, experts have pointed out that a deal remains far from certain.
Any deal struck between the US and Turkey for a fleet of F-16 Block 70/72 fighters will continue to be fraught with difficulty, according to leading defence analysts.
Despite President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan stating on 17 October that the US had offered Ankara sale of the aircraft to compensate for cancelling an order of 100 F-35A conventional take-off and landing (CTOL) variants – in the wake of Turkey procuring Almaz-Antey S-400 surface to air missile (SAM) systems — the US State Department since confirmed that it has ‘not made any financing offers’ to Turkey for an F-16 deal.
‘I don’t know
Already have an account? Log in
Want to keep reading this article?
You may also like
More from Dubai Airshow 2021 News
-
![Dubai Airshow 2021: UAE to host ViDAR centre of excellence]()
Dubai Airshow 2021: UAE to host ViDAR centre of excellence
Will the ViDAR SCAR reconnaissance pod make an impact in the Middle Eastern ISR market?
-
![Dubai Airshow 2021: Horizon Technologies and Airborne Technologies GmbH team up]()
Dubai Airshow 2021: Horizon Technologies and Airborne Technologies GmbH team up
Horizon Technologies and Airborne Technologies to jointly develop BlackFish SCAR-Pods.
-
![Defence Insight - A400M for Indonesia]()
Defence Insight - A400M for Indonesia
The Indonesian MoD placed an order for two A400M aircraft in multirole tanker and transport configuration, according to the Airbus announcement on 18 November 2021.
-
![Dubai Airshow 2021: All relatively quiet on the F-35 front]()
Dubai Airshow 2021: All relatively quiet on the F-35 front
A planned $23 billion FMS package for the UAE has still not been fully approved, 12 months after it was first proposed.
-
![Spotlight on Dubai Airshow 2021 and global second-hand armoured vehicles market (Podcast)]()
Spotlight on Dubai Airshow 2021 and global second-hand armoured vehicles market (Podcast)
Welcome to Episode 46 of the third series of The Weekly Defence Podcast. Listen on Apple Podcasts, Google Podcasts, Spotify and more.
-
![Dubai Airshow 2021: Indonesia enlists A400M for military use]()
Dubai Airshow 2021: Indonesia enlists A400M for military use
As well as finally ordering the A400M, an aircraft Indonesia has been contemplating for some time, the Asian country has agreed to continue financing the KF-21 fighter programme.
