Turkey plans to buy 4 more F-35 fighter jets

PanARMENIAN.Net - Turkey is planning to buy four more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters from the U.S., in addition to the two it had already ordered, the country's defense industry agency said, according to Hurriyet Daily News.

"It has been agreed that four more F-35 planes will be procured in addition to the two previously ordered as part of a plan to buy a total of 100 new generation F-35 Joint Strike Fighters," the defense industry executive committee (SSM) said in a statement posted on its website.

The decision came after a meeting chaired by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu for the first time under his rule to discuss key defense purchases.

Turkey has long planned to purchase 100 jets to replace its ageing F-4 and F-16 fleet, but increasing costs have hampered the acquisitions, the HDN says.

The Joint Strike Fighter, manufactured by Lockheed Martin, is the Pentagon's most expensive weapons program ever.

The defense committee also agreed to "continue negotiations" over Turkey's plan to buy defense missile systems.

Turkey announced in 2013 that it was entering negotiations with the China Precision Machinery Export-Import Corporation (CPMIEC) to acquire its first long-range anti-missile systems. But the plan angered the United States, which has already imposed sanctions on the Chinese firm for supplying arms to Iran and Syria in defiance of an embargo.

Ankara has since then asked other contenders - European and American firms - to renew their proposals.