Turkey now is seeking to go for an ambitious national program to design, develop and produce fighter jets, a process in which the country still will need foreign help. With the program, Ankara aims to build an airpower partly independent from U.S. technology and control, analysts here have said.
Defense Minister Vecdi Gönül said in December that Turkey would develop and manufacture its own fighter aircraft, either by itself or in cooperation with another country. Gönül at the time said Turkey may cooperate with South Korea, but implied that this is not a strong possibility. Procurement officials later said the Korean option was not likely because Seoul at this point does not agree to an equal partnership.
If successful, the program will earn Turkey an airpower parallel to its present and future U.S.-led fleet. Turkey's present fleet mostly is based on the U.S. F-16. Turkey also is a partner in the U.S.-led multinational consortium Joint Strike Fighter, or JSF, that will build the F-25 Lightning II fighter.
Ankara plans to buy up to 116 F-35s, worth nearly $15 billion over the next 15 years. Many Turkish companies are members of the JSF consortium of nine Western nations, and are producing parts for the aircraft. Turkey also will receive 30 modern F-16 Block 50s from Lockheed Martin, also the F-35′s top maker, as a stop-gap solution until the F-35 deliveries begin around 2015.
Maybe they can partner with Iran. |