Turkey pressing US for F-16 fighters

WASHINGTON: The United States is discussing Turkey’s request to buy F-16 fighters after a deal for more advanced F-35s was scrapped due to Ankara’s purchase of a Russian missile system, officials said.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on October 17 that Ankara wants to buy the cheaper F-16s using the $1.4 billion it allotted for the cancelled F-35 deal.

But one US official said that any possible F-16 order could be dogged by the same issue that forced the cancellation of the F-35s: Turkey’s decision to buy an S-400 missile system from Russia.

The S-400, used to track and shoot down attacking aircraft, was seen as a threat to the F-35 joint strike fighter program adopted in several NATO countries.