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NATO member Turkey earlier this year secured a deal to procure 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits for its existing F-16s from the United States, after a long-delayed process.<\/p>\n
\u201cAn initial payment has been made for the procurement of F-16 Block-70. A payment of $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,\u201d Guler told a parliamentary hearing.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe 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,\u201d he said, Reuters reported.<\/p>\n
The sale of the 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16 jets and ammunition for them will cost Turkey some $7 billion, Guler added.<\/p>\n
Turkey placed its order in October 2021, two years after the United States kicked the country out of the fifth-generation F-35 fighter jet program over its procurement of a Russian missile defense system.<\/p>\n
Turkey wants to re-join the F-35 program and buy 40 new F-35 jets, Guler also said.<\/p>\n
Turkey is one of the largest operators of F-16s, with its fleet made up of more than 200 older Block 30, 40 and 50 models.<\/p>\n
Ankara is also interested in buying Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets, built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain.<\/p>\n
It is also developing its own combat aircraft, KAAN.<\/p>\n
SD\/<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n
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