Turkiye pauses bid for F-16 to prioritise US’s F-35 programme

In recent weeks, Turkiye has increasingly made moves to persuade the US and its administration under President Donald Trump to allow it access back into the F-35 fighter jet programme, after Ankara was kicked out of the joint production venture back in 2019 due to its acquisition of Russia’s S-400 missile defence system. The revived efforts to get back into the programme and to purchase numerous F-35 jets for its own military have led to the Turkish government last week offering to buy $20 billion in ammunition electronics, and parts from the US – as well as to shift away from its direct use of the S-400 system – in exchange for the readmission process (Read more at Middle East Monitor).