Bloomberg: Erdogan in the US for a $10 billion deal for Boeing planes, Lockheed Martin fighters and co-production in Turkey

Turkey‘s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is readying a multi-billion dollar woody with the US to proviso hundreds of Boeing craft and Lockheed Martin fighters, portion claiming the close to nutrient immoderate of the parts successful Turkey.

According to accusation cited by Bloomberg, Ankara wants to offset payments of much than $10 cardinal with concern co-production contracts, which, however, necessitate the support of US President Donald Trump. The Turkish president volition beryllium astatine the White House connected Thursday for a important gathering successful an effort to repair strained relations aft the acquisition of Russia’s S-400 system.

The S-400 “shadow” and the F-35 blockade

The acquisition of the Russian missiles had led to a stalemate successful relations with Washington, which imposed CAATSA sanctions connected Turkey’s defence assemblage and excluded the state from the F-35 improvement program. Although Ankara refuses to springiness up the S-400, it hopes Trump volition hold to an amendment to the sanctions, paving the mode for the acquisition of 40 F-35A fighters.

Erdogan said yesterday, moreover, that helium volition negociate the acquisition of F-35 combatant jets erstwhile helium meets his US counterpart Donald Trump this week.

Speaking connected Fox News’ “Special Report,” Erdogan was asked if helium was looking guardant to a greenish airy for the F-35 acquisition during his sojourn to Washington, wherever helium volition conscionable with Trump connected Thursday.

“At this signifier we volition negociate again connected this issue. We expect that the US volition besides bash what it has to bash – some connected the F-35 and connected the contented of the F-16 and its accumulation and maintenance,” the Turkish president said.

Such a improvement could besides assistance the suspension of practice with 10 Turkish companies that were to manufacture F-35 components, with an estimated accumulation measurement of $12 billion. Among them, Turkish Aerospace Industries, which had been contracted to nutrient the cardinal fuselage section.

Agreement connected caller F-16s and instrumentality packages

Meanwhile, Ankara is seeking to implicit the acquisition of 40 latest-generation F-16 Vipers, on with hundreds of missiles, bombs and spare engines. Washington had approved the merchantability past twelvemonth aft Turkey ratified Sweden’s rank of NATO. Initially, the program called for 79 upgrade kits for existing F-16s astatine a full outgo of $23 billion, but Ankara is reportedly turning again to acquiring F-35s.

Turkey presently has astir 240 F-16 fighters, the world’s 2nd largest fleet aft the US. The procurement of caller craft volition let for the gradual status of the older F-4s until the indigenous Kaan combatant is deployed.

Ankara is besides seeking US support to procure and assemble GE Aerospace’s F110 and F404 engines, which are utilized successful some US fighters and the Turkish Kaan and Hurjet programs. So far, Washington has not responded to the request, which could accelerate accumulation of US engines fixed accrued planetary demand.