Recep Tayyip Erdogan is determined to reheat his relationship with and. This is also evident from the proposal he has prepared to the US president.
The Turkish president plans to buy hundreds of Boeing aircraft and Lockheed fighters. At the same time, it will push for the production of certain components in Turkey.
What is the reason he does this? Erdogan wishes to compensate for scheduled payments for US aircraft with more than $ 10 billion accessory deals.
The agreements are subject to the approval of Donald Trump, who will welcome Erdogan to the White House on Thursday. It is obvious that Ankara is trying to reinstate the tense relationships of recent years.
F-35s and Turkish spare parts
Of course, many will depend on how the S-400 obstacle will be overcome. Given the proposal revealed by Bloomberg such a development could lead to an unprecedented increase in co -operation in the field of defense industry between the two countries.
Turkey’s Russian S-400 market has led to a deadlock with Washington. The US imposed sanctions known as Caatsa, which targeted Turkey’s defense industry. One of them was the blocking of Ankara from the F-35 Development Program.
It remains to be seen whether Trump will agree to modify Caatsa to allow Turkey to buy 40 F-35A aircraft manufactured by Lockheed. This had supported Bloomberg in a report last week.
Such a move could also unlock the agreement that was in the making of the Central F35’s central fuselage by Turkish companies. Ten Turkish companies had submitted a $ 12 billion proposal that entered the drawer.
Erdogan plan for F16
At the same time, Erdogan hopes to complete the market for 40-generation F-16 Viper aircraft. His designs also have weapons systems and backup engines.
The United States approved the sale last year after the Swedish accession to the alliance from Turkey was ratified. Ankara was initially planning to buy 79 upgrades to modernize existing F-16s. However, he decided to buy F-35A.
Turkey has about 240 F-16s, having the second largest fleet in the world after the US. The sale of new F-16s could allow Ankara to withdraw the old F-4s.
Ankara has requested US license to obtain and assembly GE Aerospace F110 and F404 engines. These are engines used in American fighter aircraft. In addition, Turkey also uses them in its own Kaan war aircraft and Hurjet training aircraft.
The US has not yet responded to Turkey’s request, which could accelerate the production of US engines amid the increase in demand for US -made war aircraft, sources said.
