The shift in Turkey’s focus reportedly follows a phone call between President Erdoğan and former US President Trump in March, during which the potential return to the F-35 programme was discussed. As a result, Ankara has slowed down negotiations for the purchase of F-16 Viper aircraft and for the upgrade of its existing fleet to the Viper configuration.
Turkey was removed from the F-35 programme in 2019 due to its acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile system, and the removal of the S-400s remains a key US condition for allowing F-35 sales to Turkey. Despite this, six F-35s initially produced for Turkey before its expulsion are still in storage.
While the United States has approved the potential sale of 40 F-16 Vipers and upgrade kits for 79 operational Turkish F-16s—an agreement valued at up to USD 23 billion—the contract has not yet been signed. In parallel, Turkey is also in talks with the United Kingdom regarding the possible purchase of 40 Eurofighter combat aircraft.
Since its removal from the F-35 programme, Turkey has sought a refund of the $1.4 billion it had already paid, with one option being the redirection of these funds towards the F-16 acquisition. However, the recent developments indicate Ankara may now prioritise rejoining the F-35 programme instead.
Source: TurDef.
