Turkey has announced that it is scaling back the planned acquisition of an F-16 fighter jet package from the United States, which was secured after a protracted campaign. The move comes amid reports that Ankara is looking to acquire 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighters.
In an announcement on November 28, Turkish Defense Minister Yaser Guler said that Ankara was abandoning plans to purchase 79 upgrade kits for its F-16C/D fighter fleet and reducing the size of its planned US$23 billion purchase of the F-16 fighter jet package that it secured from the United States earlier this year.
The country will only purchase 40 new F-16 Viper or the F-16 Block 70 fighter variant and source the modernization work on its existing F-16 C/D fleet from its domestic industry.
Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler told a parliamentary hearing, “An initial payment has been made for the procurement of F-16 Block-70. A payment of US$1.4 billion has been made. With this, we will buy 40 F-16 Block-70 Viper, and we were going to buy 79 modernization kits.”
He added, ”We gave up on this 79. This is why we gave up: Our Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) facilities are capable of carrying out this modernization on their own, so we deferred to them.” Guler noted that Turkey would have to pay almost US$7 billion for 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16 jets and ammunition for them.
The announcement is significant as Ankara has been working relentlessly since 2021 to acquire 40 of the latest generation F-16s from Lockheed Martin Corp., along with 79 kits for upgrading the aging F-16s. After a long campaign, it finally secured the F-16 package for modernizing its Air Force earlier this year in return for ratifying Sweden’s membership in NATO. Thus, the latest announcement may come as a shocker for many.
At the time, the United States’ authorization to sell the F-16 was considered a big victory for Ankara, which had earlier been kicked out of the F-35 stealth fighters program.
Intriguingly, the latest decision coincides with optimism about the United States’ potential F-35 sale to Turkey, as recently disclosed by the defense minister. “Now that they’ve seen our progress with KAAN, their stance seems to be shifting. They’re indicating that they might be willing to deliver them. We’ve officially resubmitted our offer to buy the F-35,” he said at the Plan and Budget Commission on November 26.
However, the possibility of receiving the F-35 in the future might not be linked to the plans for scaling down the F-16 kits.
In July this year, a Bloomberg report stated that Turkey was reducing the scope of a planned US$23 billion defense contract with the US and seeking an offset deal to manufacture some warplane parts. Citing anonymous sources, the report stated that Turkey was planning for fewer upgrade kits and munitions due to domestic budget cuts and economic restrictions.
When reporters asked about the deal’s revision, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan dodged the questions, saying instead that “the issue regarding these spare parts is something we always discuss.”
While the Defense Minister did not say whether the country would choose another aircraft to reinforce its aging fleet, the scaling back of plans comes amid Turkey’s plans to purchase the Eurofighter Typhoon from the Eurofighter consortium.
Eurofighter Deal Is Closer Than Ever
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged German Chancellor Olaf Scholz to remove the ban on the sale of Eurofighter Typhoon jets in July, shortly after speculations that it had decided to scale back the US$23 billion deal for F-16s with the US. Turkey has been eager to sign fighter jet contracts in response to Greece’s procurement of Rafale fighters and the impending acquisition of F-35 stealth fighters.
The aircraft is manufactured by the Eurofighter Typhoon consortium, which includes the UK, Germany, Spain, and Italy. All consortium members have accepted the sale of these cutting-edge multi-role fighters to Ankara, except Germany, which suspended arms sales to Turkey in 2019 following a Turkish attack on the Kurdish YPG group in Syria.
While Germany stuck to its guns for more than a year, there are signs that it is finally rethinking its position and is inching closer to removing the restrictions on the sale of the aircraft.
“We will acquire 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets. Germany had been reluctant for a long time, but with the constructive contributions of our NATO allies Italy, the UK, and Spain, they finally gave a positive response,” Yaser Guler said on November 13, during a televised interview.
Germany has not expressly communicated its desire to allow the sale of the jets to Turkey. However, recent reports have given the impression that Turkey might have decided to scale its plans for F-16s to redirect the financial resources toward its domestic aviation industry and for the purchase of 40 Eurofighter Typhoons—which now seems to be on the horizon.
Does Eurofighter Triumph F-16?
The F-16 Fighting Falcon is a combat-hardened single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft. It has been the mainstay of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for over 35 years. In fact, with 270 F-16 C/Ds in service, Turkey is one of the five countries that produce the jet domestically.
Turkey has been looking to upgrade the C/D variants to the latest Block 70/72 variant, also known as the F-16V. The Viper builds upon the capabilities of the F-16, which is popular for its combat performance across a diverse range of battlefields.
This Lockheed Martin version incorporates modern features and technological advancements while preserving the original’s adaptability and effectiveness.
Although the modified F-16V is still categorized as a fourth-generation fighter, it has some advanced features thanks to its upgraded avionics suite. This system is centered around the Northrop Grumman AN/APG-83 Scalable Agile Beam Radar (SABR), which has an active electronically scanned array (AESA). Moreover, the advanced radar system of the F-16V increases resilience to electronic countermeasures, improves target-spotting capabilities for low-signature objects like cruise missiles, and extends detection and engagement ranges.
Apart from its increased robustness and endurance, the Block 70/72 is distinguished by its fuselage-mounted conformal fuel tanks. These tanks boost fuel capacity and range, which creates a difficult balance because more fuel typically translates into more drag. According to Lockheed Martin, the F-16 is expected to last 1.5 times longer than earlier variants—12,000 more hours—so it should continue to be in use well into the 2060s.
In contrast, the Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine, 4++ generation multirole fighter aircraft with a delta wing. It is an extremely agile aircraft designed to be an efficient dogfighter in warfare. Over the years, the aircraft has received upgrades bolstering its air-to-surface strike capability and compatibility with various weapons and equipment.
The aircraft has reduced radar cross-section, sensor fusion, adduced avionics, and super-cruise capability. The Eurofighter is powered by two Eurojet EJ200 engines that can produce 20,230 pounds of thrust when the afterburners are engaged. The EJ200 is an amazing engine that provides the Eurojet with supercruise, fuel efficiency, and a high thrust-to-weight ratio.
The Eurofighter has remarkable radar absorption since only 15% of its surface is made of metal. The remaining coating is composite to lower the radar cross-section. Additionally, the jet engine conceals the front of the engines, further bolstering the aircraft’s partial stealth capabilities. The Typhoon can operate in contested airspace, thanks to advanced sensor systems like infrared tracking and active electronically scanned radar.
What makes the aircraft truly exceptional is that it can be assigned to an escort or dog-fighting mission and then switch to ground assault or close air support capabilities while in flight. “The Eurofighter Typhoon is the world’s most advanced swing-role combat aircraft,” the Airbus website states. “No other fighter has integrated such a large number of European and US weapons, making it combat-ready for any mission.”
The aircraft has been regarded as NATO’s best non-stealthy, multi-role combat aircraft, a reputation that remains unmatched.
Turkey has not officially disclosed why it wants to acquire the Eurofighter Typhoons; however, there is widespread consensus within the country that the aircraft would be a stopgap solution until it is ready to induct its fifth-generation stealth aircraft, KAAN.
An op-ed earlier published in Turkey’s leading news website, Daily Sabah, said, “The Typhoon could operate in Future Combat Air Systems (FCAS or Tempest), allowing Eurofighter and partner companies time to mature technologies on the platform. It also includes areas such as training opportunities in complex multi-domain scenarios. These technological lessons learned could benefit Turkey’s TF-X program.
“With the new software and hardware upgrade packages Eurofighter is developing, the Typhoon will be capable of countering threats or challenges that might arise up to the 2060s, making it not only a stop-gap solution but also a complete upgrade in capabilities for the Turkish Air Force.”
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