Türkiye cancels F-16 modernization agreement with US Shifting focus to new aircraft

Türkiye's Minister of National Defence, Yaşar Güler, has announced the cancellation of the F-16 Block 70 modernization contract with the United States.

According to reports from SavunmaSanayiST.com, the contract, originally valued at $23 billion, has been reduced to approximately $7 billion, Caliber.Az reports.

F-16 Blok 70 Modernizasyon Kiti Tedarikinden Vazgeçildi!

— Paket, 23 milyar dolar 7 milyar dolara indi!

“F-16 Blok 70 tedariki kapsamında başlangıç ödemesi yapılmıştır. 1.4 milyar dolarlık bir parayı yatırdık. Bununla da 40 tane F-16 Blok 70 Viper uçağı alacağız.

79 tane… pic.twitter.com/AfNG0qIjwb

— SavunmaSanayiST.com (@SavunmaSanayiST) November 26, 2024

“We have invested $1.4 billion as part of the purchase of the F-16 Block 70. We will acquire 40 F-16 Block 70 Viper jets. Initially, we had planned to purchase 79 kits to upgrade our existing F-16 fleet, but we have decided to abandon that plan,” Akar said.

He explained that the decision to cancel the upgrade kits was due to the capability of Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAŞ) to carry out the upgrades independently.

“We have opted to direct the funds towards the purchase of new aircraft. TUSAŞ is now capable of handling the F-16 upgrades on its own,” he added.

In addition to the aircraft, Türkiye will also be acquiring specialized munitions to complement the jets. The total value of the deal is estimated to be between $6.5 billion and $7 billion.

By Aghakazim Guliyev