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Turkey prefers another fighter jet over Russia's SU-35?

 

Turkey prefers another fighter jet over Russia's SU-35?

HSmilitary.com: Turkey may prefer aircraft from other countries to Russian Su-35s as a replacement for F-16 fighters. 

Paul Iddon, a columnist for the American Forbes magazine, came to this conclusion. 

“As a result of this deal, Turkey lost the opportunity to acquire the fifth-generation stealth fighter F-35 Lightning II,” recalls Paul Iddon.

 “Therefore, most likely, in the near future, the Turkish Air Force will not have combat-ready fifth-generation aircraft at its disposal.”

Now Ankara is offering Washington to conclude an agreement on the purchase of 40 American F-16 fighters: this will allow Turkey to modernize its flight fleet.

However, the White House has not yet made a decision on this issue. 

If the US backs out of the deal, Turkey will look for an alternative. Ankara has repeatedly stated that it is considering purchasing Su-35 fighter jets from Moscow. 

However, Iddon believes, there are two problems that could force Ankara to opt for aircraft from other countries.

“The next deal with Moscow will certainly provoke new countermeasures from the United States under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act,” the Forbes columnist points out.


 “This will further alienate Ankara from other NATO members, which means it will limit its opportunities for cooperation with Western and, in particular, European countries in the field of updating the fighter fleet.”

Already now, due to a number of contradictions with Britain and France, Turkey is unlikely to get access to their modern aircraft, such as Eurofighter Typhoons and Dassault Rafales, the author of the article states.

Another reason that could prevent Turkey from buying the Su-35 could be the fact that Russian fighters are not equipped with active phased array radars. 

Therefore, Ankara may turn its attention to other aircraft, such as the Chinese Chengdu J-10C fighter, Iddon writes. 

Referring to the opinion of some military experts, he argues that the J-10C could be the most affordable and effective replacement for the Turkish F-16, which is currently in service with Ankara.

The author considers the promising South Korean fighter KF-21 Boramae to be the second candidate to replace the F-16 (and, possibly, the Su-35). 

Ankara has already shown interest in this project, and besides, it has fairly strong defense ties with Seoul.

“If South Korea can start exporting the KF-21 at a competitive price by the end of this decade, then Turkey could be one of the first customers,” says Paul Iddon.

Earlier, PolitRussia told how the United States is using the carrot and stick method against Russian Su-35s.

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