TR Foreign Policy & Geopolitics

[IC3M@N FX]

Posted on another aviation forum:



Worth thinking about.

It would be an idea to try to maintain relations with the US to ensure that F110 engine supply for KAAN is not blocked. If that happened, the consequences would be bad.

You should.... avoid. . At least in the defense sector, you should give them a wide berth. It's fine the way it is, the F-16 Block 70 including the upgrade kits will be the last planes from the US.
If we don't get them, we shouldn't waste any more energy trying to convince them, just convert the remaining F-16 Block 40/50s into Özgur II, the equivalent of the Block 70 Viper.

The delivery of the F-110 engines only came about because General Electric is a minority shareholder in TEI and is therefore forced to fulfill contracts that have already been concluded.
If the US government had torpedoed the deal, the Russians or Chinese would have agreed to supply the engines together with a technology transfer as in the S-400 deal.
Both have asked to help Turkey with the engines if their wonderful allies refuse.
That would have been the final straw for Turkey's NATO membership, which would then only be on paper and worth no more than a scrap of paper from Turkey's point of view. It would still be a NATO member, but would not provide any assistance to the wrong allies.