The United States in July 2019 removed Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter aircraft development and production program. At that time the Turkish Government insisted on buying a Russian-made air defense missile system that US officials feared could collect sensitive data on the F-35, data that could be utilized by Russia, reports National Interest.
Ankara has planned to buy as many as 100 F-35 fighters to equip the Air Force and even potentially to be placed on new amphibious assault ships. And right now Turkey is looking for new high-tech fighter planes elsewhere.
But the offer might not include anti-radar stealth warplanes like the F-35. Only two stealth aircraft other than the F-35 are currently in production and in theory will be available for export markets, namely the Russian Su-57 and the Chinese J-20.
But Chinese officials appear to be in no mood to sell J-20 outside China - for fear that technology will fall into enemy countries, similar to the F-22 which is banned for export by the US Parliament.
In addition to the SU-57 and J-20, the FC-31 stealth warplanes currently being developed by Shenyang China will be available for export markets. But with slow development progress, it is not possible for Shenyang to accept export orders for J-31.
Russian President Vladimir Putin in August 2019 exhibited the Su-57 to President Erdogan during the Russian MAKS air show. The two leaders examined Su-57, and were involved in discussions about the Russian stealth fighter.
But the Su-57 is still under development, and doesn't yet have a main combat system. The Sukhoi manufacturer has not yet made a large and efficient production line for this fighter aircraft. And Moscow almost certainly does not have the money to buy a large number of stealth aircraft, which means the price per Su-57 unit can be relatively high.
Putin in May 2019 claimed that Sukhoi had reduced the price of Su-57 by 20 percent, the Russian President announced that the Kremlin in 2027 would buy 76 units of Su-57 instead of just 16, as had been previously planned.
"I hope that the adjusted plan will be executed," Putin said. But it is still unclear whether the Sukhoi manufacturer will really be able to build 76 Su-57s for Russia.
In contrast, Russia's Su-35 has completed development, and has already been produced for several customers including Russia and China. Turkey and Russia in September 2019 reportedly began discussing the possibility of Turkey's acquisition of the Su-35.
But the Su-35 is a conventional fighter and has no stealth features. Buying a new fighter now means Turkey might not be able to buy a stealth fighter. It is not without reason that Ankara has launched the development of its own anti-radar fighter aircraft, the TF-X.
Of course, TF-X faces its own big obstacles. The total cost is around US $ 100 billion to develop, build and operate stealth warplanes, according to the assessment of Japanese Air Force General Hideyuki Yoshioka, who in 2011 helped oversee Japan's own stealth combat program.
The F-35 spends around US $ 10 billion from the United States defense budget of around US $ 700 billion per year. That's about 1.5 percent. And barely affordable. Turkey, on the other hand, spends only US $ 20 billion each year on its armed forces. Try to compare it with the need to provide a budget of US $ 100 billion for stealth combat programs.
All things considered, the Su-35 might become the next Turkish fighter. And that could take a long time before Turkey follows up on Su-35 with stealth warplanes.
#Su35 #FighterJet #TFX
