Turkey allowed the possibility of buying Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighters if the United States refuses to sell it the F-16 Block 70, the Milliyet newspaper reports.
According to the publication, Ankara has requested forty American aircraft and eighty upgrade kits for the aircraft already in service.
Earlier, the United States sent an official notice to exclude Turkey from the program for the supply of the latest F-35 fighters due to Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 air defense systems. The United States canceled the joint memorandum with Turkey, signing it with the seven remaining partners in the F-35 project – the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that the United States offered his country to buy F-16 fighter jets as an alternative.
