F-16 request from Turkey... 'Application was made to the USA'
It was claimed that Turkey applied to the USA to purchase 40 F-16s and nearly 80 F-16 modernization kits produced by Lockheed Martin of the USA. The US State Department has also issued a statement on the matter.
08 October 2021 09:04Updated: 08 October 2021 12:43
Reuters, citing defense industry sources, claimed that Turkey made an attempt to purchase 40
F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for existing warplanes from the
USA .
In the news, it was stated that the application for a possible agreement worth billions of dollars is in the process of evaluation at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and if the Ministry approves, it will be sent to Congress. It was also reminded that Congress has the power to block this sale.
NTV Washington representative Hüseyin Günay also stated the following on the subject:
“Turkey has applied to purchase 40 F-16s from the USA.
At the same time, an agreement was offered for the modernization of 80 F-16 type fighter jets already in the inventory.
Ankara's letter of offer was delivered to Washington on September 30.
This request of Turkey will be evaluated by the US Department of State and the Department of Defense (Pentagon).
If the administration approves the sale of weapons, it will send this request to the US Congress. If the congress is approved, the sale will take place.
Economic circles say the value of the sale is around $10 billion.”
The news was also featured on Greece-based Defenseview.
WHAT DID MSB SOURCES SAY?
According to the news in the newspaper Cumhuriyet, the claim that Turkey wants to buy 40 new F-16s from the USA has not been confirmed. In the report, where the Ministry of National Defense officials answered the question
"We want our F-35s or money from the USA" , on the question of whether there is a new F-16 request,
"We want the F-16s in
the inventory of the Turkish Air Force within the scope of the current agreements with the USA. It was reported
that there may be a demand for the modernization of the .
EXPLANATION FROM US FOREIGN
According to Reuters; A spokesperson for the U.S. State Department said,
"As per our policy, the department does not comment or verify military sales or transfers until we formally inform Congress .
" The Turkish embassy in Washington did not respond to questions.
Turkey had previously ordered 100 F-35s from the US defense company Lockheed Martin, but was removed from the F-35 program in 2019 due to the S-400 crisis. The United States imposed sanctions on Turkey for its purchase of the S-400s, and İsmail Demir, the President of the Presidency of Defense Industries, and three other employees were blacklisted.
Reuters, savunma sanayi kaynaklarına dayandırarak verdiği haberinde, Türkiye’nin ABD'den 40 adet F-16 savaş uçağı ve mevcut savaş
www.veryansintv.com