Let’s make clear one thing straightaway: Washington’s endorsement of Ankara’s procurement of 40 F-16 Block 40 fighter jets will not be a carried out deal—but. It reminds us of the “F-35 saga” years in the past when the U.S. stipulated circumstances that Turkey wanted to abide by for a hassle-free completion of the deal.
Based on the Turkish publication Aydinlik, the Congressional Analysis Service had already drawn up a complete report final 12 months. This touched upon the potential provide of F-16s to Turkey and predefined circumstances that might terminate this association.
One a part of the report explicitly said that if Turkey, at any cut-off date, “acts in opposition to US pursuits,” the procurement course of might be placed on maintain. The report additional clarified, “Approval of the sale is not going to forestall Congress or the Administration from halting or modifying the sale in response to Turkey’s actions that counteract US pursuits sooner or later.”
The present army commerce and manufacturing relationship between Turkey and Russia might probably set off Washington to hit the pause button on supplying Block 70. Aydinlik hypothesizes that Turkey may have to halt any new floor operations in Syria, stop extreme Aegean Sea flyovers, sever army ties with Russia, and chorus from shuttering the HDP [Halkların Demokratik Partisi or Peoples’ Democratic Party].
The outlined circumstances for future F-16 shipments floor as Washington renews its discourse regarding Turkey’s S-400 batteries. In latest weeks, many media shops highlighted the proposition from numerous D.C. politicians to offer Ukraine with S-400s bought from Russia. If this plan materializes, media hypothesis suggests Turkey may regain their place inside Lockheed Martin’s F-35 program for the fifth-generation fighter.
Nonetheless, it stays unclear how these stipulations for the potential suspension of F-16 deliveries to Turkey would have an effect on the present settlement between Russia and Turkey for added S-400 air protection techniques in addition to the servicing of kit already bought from Russia.
Turkey stays steadfast in its stance on the need of the S-400s for Turkish nationwide protection, citing “the nation’s huge land mass that wants safety from potential future threats”. But, historical past echoes loudly right here, mirroring the situation when Turkey tried to strain the US into promoting the F-16s with “offers for the Eurofighter, Su-35 or JF-17″, the US responded with their very own strain, threatening suspensions on provides.
As a reminder from BulgarianMilitary.com, in late January, the U.S. issued a overseas army notification. This notification serves as a precursor for the proposed sale of F-16 Block 70 fighter jets to Turkey. The upcoming acquisition enlists 40 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets and 79 improve kits for a similar mannequin, plus related tools, all costing roughly $23 billion. Amongst these, 32 F-16 Block 70s will probably be single-seat jets, whereas the remaining eight will function a dual-seater setup.
Past the acquisition of F-16s, the deal additionally incorporates 48 F-110 turbofan engines, 149 AN/APG-83 AESA SABR radars, 168 Viper built-in digital warfare kits, 858 LAU-129 guided missile launchers, 44 M61 Vulcan cannons, and 16 AN/AAQ-33 forward-looking Sniper aiming pods.
Now, let’s discover the weaponry Turkey is about to accumulate: 952 AMRAAM AIM-120C-8 Air-to-Air Missiles, 96 AMRAAM Steering Sections, and 864 GBU-39/B Miniature Bombs amongst others. Moreover, Turkey’s buy order features a number of different techniques akin to 96 AGM-88B HARM Anti-Radiation and AGM-88E Superior Anti-Radiation Missiles [AARGM], an additional 401 AIM-9X Block II Sidewinder air-to-air missiles.
The sale additionally contains complete improve kits and a Service Life Extension Program [SLEP] particularly designed for the modification of current Turkish F-16 Block 40 and Block 50+ plane. This ensures the inclusion of crucial tools inside the deal to increase the service life of those jets.
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