Turkish authorities again announced the possible purchase of Russian Su-35 fighters instead of American ones
According to the head of the Turkish defense industry department, Ismail Demir, in the event that Washington refuses to supply Ankara with F-35 fighters, Russian Su-35s may be one of the alternatives. Demir stated this in an interview with the Turkish CNN Türk TV channel.
Earlier, the US authorities announced that they would not supply fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to Turkey, citing Ankara's acquisition of the latest S-400 air defense systems from Russia. Later, Washington offered the Turks to buy fourth-generation F-16 fighters in return. However, friction arose, so to speak, on these aircraft.
Ankara received the first S-400s back in 2019. In August of this year, it was announced the start of deliveries of the second stage of the S-400 air defense systems. For this, the United States imposed sanctions against Turkey, including freezing the accounts of the aforementioned Demir and the defense industry directorate headed by him.
It is known that before the imposition of sanctions in Turkey, a number of components for the F-35 were being produced. However, it was curtailed. This caused outrage in Ankara, which began to say that if the United States refused to resume participation in the F-35 program, it could buy aircraft from Russia - either Su-35 or Su-57.
The issue of deliveries of F-35s to Turkey has not yet been finally resolved. Rejection of the deal or its approval must be agreed in the US Congress.
In the event of a final refusal, Ankara will look for alternative options. However, not many arms manufacturers can offer fifth-generation fighters. In fact, it could be either a Russian Su-57 or a Chinese J-20 fighter. There are no talks about any negotiations with China on this issue yet.
Information