Six months after the White House gave the green light for the modernization of Turkish F-16s, the program seems to have encountered obstacles, quoted by News.bg.
This was revealed in. “Kathimerini“.
Turkey has reportedly reconsidered purchasing new F-16 fighter jets and upgrading existing ones to Viper configuration, with Ankara looking at other options and even considering abandoning the program altogether.
Turkish President Erdogan has acknowledged the problems after the conclusion of the NATO summit and requested the intervention of US President Biden.
The two countries appear to be at odds on many issues of the $23 billion program, such as own production and delivery timelines for the planes.
Ankara wants to produce in Turkey the 40 new F-16 Vipers agreed with the US, while the US government wants to outsource the production to Lockheed Martin.
Turkey believes that its own production of the fighters will significantly reduce costs and delivery times.
It is estimated that under current conditions, the first Turkish Vipers will be ready by 2030.