Turkey Threatens US: We Will Cancel Purchase of 40 F-16 Fighters

Turkey is ready to cancel a planned $23 billion (BGN 42.20 million) contract with the US to buy F-16 fighter jets and is looking for a deal to manufacture some of the plane's components in the country, Bloomberg reports, citing sources. .

Turkey is pushing to buy fewer upgrade kits and munitions for fighter jets to save billions of dollars amid domestic spending cuts, according to Bloomberg's sources.

"Ankara wants to develop its own aviation industry to meet some of its needs," the sources said.

Asked about plans to revise the treaty during a press conference in Washington on Thursday (July 11th), Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan sidestepped the issue, saying that "the issue of these parts is something we always discuss”.

In March, the US Senate rejected an attempt to stop the sale of $23 billion in F-16 fighter jets and upgrade kits to Turkey, approved by President Joe Biden's administration, after Turkey agreed to Sweden joining NATO.

The Biden administration formally notified Congress on January 26 of its intention to proceed with the sale of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits to Turkey, a day after Ankara completed full ratification of Sweden's NATO membership.