Turkey will drop the plan to purchase 79 modernization kits for its F-16s and pursue a national upgrade program with Turkish Aerospace Industries. This would be done under the ambitious Özgür Project, which Turkey announced in early 2023.
The saga over the renewed Turkish efforts into the F-35 program and the recent plan to pursue the F-16 upgrade domestically bares how Turkey’s indigenous defense capability is driving its own and America’s foreign policy. As The Aviationist reported, defense minister Yaşar Güler told the Planning and Budget Committee that the United States expressed willingness to deliver the six F-35’s after seeing Ankara’s progress with the KAAN fighter.
This was followed by Turkey announcing that it will drop the plan to purchase 79 modernization kits for its F-16s and pursue the project domestically, handing that project to defense major TUSAŞ (Turkish Aerospace Industries). The decision drops the cost of the upgrade program to $6.5 to 7 billion from the initial $23 billion, Turkish defense sources noted.
The company had already been selected for another project to modernize the existing F-16s in-house, and the change in plans brings more of the jets under that ambit. Simultaneously, Turkey will continue to seek the 40 new F-16 Block 70 jets along with munitions from the U.S. approved earlier this year, for which it already paid $1.4 billion out of the $7 billion.
8-26 Ekim 2024 tarihleri arasında, Mushaf Hava Üssü/Sargodha’da Pakistan’ın ev sahipliğinde icra edilen Indus Shield-2024 Tatbikatı’na, 🇹🇷 5’inci Ana Jet Üs Komutanlığına ait 5 adet F-16 uçağı ve 64 personel ile katılıyoruz.
Between October 8-26, 2024, 🇹🇷 5th Main Jet Base… pic.twitter.com/PTQQ8MGtMg
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) October 21, 2024
Parallely, Turkey has also announced discussing with Germany the purchase of 40 Eurofighter Typhoons, over which Turkish officials claim Berlin has green lighted “necessary permissions” for commencing negotiations. It must be noted, however, that there has been no explicit official statement in this regard from Germany, suggesting Ankara’s famous diplomatic pressure. Germany has not unequivocally denied the claims either.
Domestic F-16 upgrade program
In another appearance before the Planning and Budget Committee, Güler made a statement in context of the deal for the 40 new F-16 Block 70s. “The first payment of $1.4 billion has been made; we will acquire 40 F-16 Block 70 fighters. We have decided to drop the 79 modernisation kits. As TUSAŞ’s facilities can perform this modernisation, we have routed the modernisation work there. We will acquire about 40 aircraft with munitions for $6.5-7 billion.”
According to Reuters, the Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava Kuvvetleri) operates a little over 200 F-16 Block 30/40/50 variants, making it NATO’s second-largest fleet of F-16s. The U.S. sent draft letters of offer and acceptance for the 40 Block-70 F-16s, modernization kits and ammunition on Feb. 29, 2024. These two sales – the 40 F-16 Block 70s and the 79 modernization kits – were approved by the U.S. following Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s membership in NATO.
Hava Kuvvetleri Komutanlığımıza ait 4 adet F-16 ve 1 adet KC-135R uçağımız, NATO Müttefik Hava Kuvveti Komutanlığı tarafından “Artırılmış Teyakkuz Faaliyetleri” ile eş güdümlü yürütülmekte olan “Esnek Caydırıcılık Seçenekleri” kapsamında, Romanya hava sahasındaki eğitim… pic.twitter.com/LEAWmjVq8n
— T.C. Millî Savunma Bakanlığı (@tcsavunma) July 1, 2024
Turkish reports also highlight TUSAŞ’s capability to produce F-16 Vipers under license, and to work on the aircraft in its two MRO (Maintenance, Repair, and Overhaul) facilities in Ankara and the Defence Ministry’s 1st Air Maintenance Factory Directorate in Eskişehir. These can carry out MLU (Mid-Life Upgrades) and other modernisation works. TAI has already produced F-16s for Egypt and modernized Pakistani and Jordanian F-16s.
More from The Aviationist
The substitution of the 79 imported upgrade kits with a indigenous program follows the ambitious Özgür Project, which Turkey announced in early-2023. This identified 35 F-16 Block 30 jets that TAI/TUSAS would upgrade with a host of new in-house software, avionics and electronics. The new program has also been reported as Özgür II by some sources.
The components comprised a national mission computer, system interface units, cockpit upper front control panels, fuel hydraulic indicators, engine display screens, emergency indicators, national sound safety devices, national IFF (Identification Friend-Foe) system, multi-mode receivers, inertial navigation systems, interface blinding units, helmet integrated aiming systems, center cockpit indicator and color multifunction displays.
GREAT NEWS ✔️ — Türkiye has cancelled its request to buy 79 F-16 Block-70 upgrade kits from the US, opting instead for a comparable indigenous solution based on #TUSAS F-16 Özgür-II platform. The move will reportedly save Ankara up to $17 BILLION. 🇹🇷 pic.twitter.com/oWiu3XCBBG
— Turkish Century (@TurkishCentury) November 26, 2024
A significant addition would be the MURAD 100-A AESA (Active Electronically Scanned Array) radar, which is also slated to be the KAAN fighter and the Kizilelma UCAV’s primary sensor. Weapons, defense electronics and radars major Aselsan is also expected to play a part in the Özgür project. TurDef has also identified the Gökdoğan, Gökhan and Bozdoğan BVRAAMs (Beyond Visual-Range Air-to-Air Missiles) and Gezgin LACM (Land Attack Cruise Missile) as other weapons.
Turkey and F-35
Turkey was expelled from the F-35 project in 2020 under the CAATSA (Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act) for its acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defense system. The SAM (Surface-to-Air Missile) system has been claimed to be able to counter the F-35, although there was also the risk of it recording data about the F-35 to be shared with Russia.
In response to a question about U.S. expectations about Turkey’s S-400, Turkey denied all American demands. “You will do this and that…’ we rejected all of it. Now, as long as it is in the place we agreed to, the U.S. doesn’t have any objections regarding S-400,” said Güler according to TurDef . Currently, Turkey is enforcing an arrangement with the U.S. that keeps its S-400s in a deactivated mode.
He also signalled understanding the American concerns over the S-400, yet not giving them up completely, thus simultaneously reassuring Russia. According to Daily Sabah, Güler said that the S-400 systems could be “deployment-ready” within “12 hours if needed,” but would be used only in case of a “very high level of danger.” Interestingly, Aselsan CEO Haluk Gorgun had previously claimed that Turkey would “no longer need” the S-400 itself, after the Siper integrated air defense system is operational.
🔴Türk Hava Kuvvetleri için üretilen ancak yaklaşık 6 yıldır ABD’de tüm bakımları yapılarak depoda muhafaza edilen F-35A Lightning II savaş uçağı: https://t.co/jgVoQ14QEj pic.twitter.com/BRgaX98THC
— SavunmaSanayiST.com (@SavunmaSanayiST) November 28, 2024
Turkey was building about 900 parts for the F-35, including the center fuselage and cockpit display, and had made an advance payment of US$1.4 billion for the project. The country was also at one point seeking compensation and demanding reimbursement for its defense industry’s expenses if the U.S. was ultimately not going to re-admit Turkey into the program and transfer its jets. It also shared images and videos of some of its six F-35 jets at U.S. facilities, which it said had been stored there for six years.
