Erdogan Says US Offered To Sell F-16s To Turkey In Return For Investment In F-35 Program

ANKARA (UrduPoint News / Sputnik - 17th October, 2021) Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Sunday that the United States had offered to sell F-16 fighter jets to his country as a return for its investment in the F-35 program.

The Turkish presidential spokesperson said this week that Ankara would look at adding more F-16s to its air fleet in place of more advanced F-35s after it was removed from the joint strike fighter program.

"We are talking $1.4 billion spent on F-35s. As a return for this investment, the US approached us with this offer. We told them we will do everything to meet our country's defense needs," Erdogan told reporters.

Turkey caused a rift with its NATO partner after it bought S-400 air defense systems from Russia. The United States canceled the sale of F-35 jets to Turkey in 2019 over claims that it could leak military secrets to Russia. Turkey continues to make parts for F-35s.