Turkey has officially signed a contract with the United States (US) for the procurement of F-16 fighter jets. Earlier, the Pentagon had released a statement revealing that Ankara had signed a letter of offer and acceptance to purchase the Lockheed Martin-made warplanes. It is pertinent to note that both countries are part of the NATO alliance.
In October 2021, the Erdogan-led Turkish government submitted their request to acquire 40 new F-16 aircraft and 79 kits to upgrade jets in its fleet. Over two years later, the Joe Biden administration formally approved the sale. Last week, the US State Department hailed the deal as “a major step forward” in Turkey’s purchase of the new jets, calling them “the most advanced F-16 ever made available only to closest allies and partners.”
What are the F-16 jets?
The F-16 jets are single-engine supersonic multirole fighter aircraft. According to Lockheed Martin, these warplanes deliver greater situational awareness, flexibility, and quicker all-weather targeting, providing pilots with unprecedented target area detail and digital map displays that can be tailored with slew and zoom features.
