Looks like Turkey is yet another nation doubling down on their original poor F-35 purchase decision by buying more F-35s.
Turkey To Buy Two Dozen More F-35s
LONDON—Turkey has committed to purchase an additional 24 F-35 Joint
Strike Fighters, one of the largest single orders for the aircraft placed by a
foreign country.
Ankara has already placed orders for six aircraft, following orders made in 2014 and 2015, and will now buy two dozen more aircraft, Defense Minister Fikri Isik told broadcaster A Haber in a Nov. 1 interview.
The decision follows an Oct. 28 meeting of Turkey’s Defense Industry Executive Committee (SSIK), the first since the attempted coup against the AKP government on July 15. It called for first deliveries of the F-35 in 2018, with initial deliveries of the second batch of aircraft to follow in 2021. It is unclear whether Turkey’s order will form part of a larger block buy strategy being pursued by Lockheed Martin to reduce the per-aircraft price.
Turkey is currently planning to purchase around 100 F-35s, primarily as a replacement for the McDonnell Douglas F-4 Phantom, which remains in service in an upgraded form, as well as to replace some early model F-16s. Turkey is also continuing to pursue development of an indigenous fighter currently known as the TFX, likely to be a twin-engine aircraft.
The F-35 program was one of a number of programs discussed by the SSIK. Other programs signed off on by the committee include a modernization program for the Turkish navy’s fleet of 24 S-70B Seahawk helicopters. The committee also approved the development of a new light armored vehicle.
—Tony Osborne,
[email protected]