Washington refuses to arm Turkish F-16 Block 70 fighters with local ammunition

Washington refused to give Turkey the green light to arm its newly purchased American-made F-16 fighters with locally developed Turkish munitions. The matter is related to the final acquisition of 40 F-16 Block 70 fighters, the remaining modifications of the armament in the Turkish Air Force. While the older versions of the aircraft, which include the Block 30, Block 40 and Block 50, can use Turkish ammunition.

This news comes after the statement of the head of the defense industry, Ismail Demir, in response to a question from the journalists, where he made the following statement: “We cannot integrate local ammunition on the F-16 Block 70, which we will buy from the United States, but we can equip our own ammunition on the types of blocks.” 30, 40 and 50″.

If true, this condition from Washington will not change the Turkish situation with the modernization of the Turkish F-16s. This condition seems more like part of a set of conditions that Turkey must ensure that it meets in order to obtain the latest version of the famous F-16 fighter jet.

Thus, the United States will not only guarantee itself greater sales, as it will have to sell Block 70 weapons to Turkey, but also long-term weapons, and Demir did not mention in his statement whether Ankara had agreed to this condition but even if it was not real, if it was He wants new F-16s, so obviously he’ll have to comply with the terms.

Demir’s statement revealed another piece of information – Turkey has already made serious progress in modernizing American aircraft with its own domestic technology, for example the radar of the old Turkish F-16s. Currently, the original radar is unable to respond to modern warfare. However, Turkey’s Aselsan has developed a radar. Its own AESA, which not only provides hundreds of kilometers of visibility, but also provides the F-16 with the possibility of attacking at a greater distance than the current one.

Turkey has engaged in a serious government and trade dispute with the United States in recent years, and the purchase of the Russian air defense system did not result in Turkey being removed from the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program. [JSF] Not only that, but it also affected the supply and maintenance of US weapons already owned. Old Turkish F-16s also fall into this category.
This is why Ankara has launched its own modernization program called “Ozgur”. This program has been heavily publicized by Ankara, and this program has proven to be very successful. Under the National Resource Program, Turkish F-16s will receive a new mission computer, flight software New aircraft, a new flight control computer, new digital cockpit, new AESA radar as well as new armament.

Besides the indigenously developed AESA radar, another very important component is the mission computer. Thanks to this, the Turkish F-16s will be able to place all air-to-surface, air-to-air missiles under their wings, as well as glide bombs.
As for the modernization, it is already in full force, and according to statements in the Turkish media, the first F-16 Block 30 aircraft has already been modernized after updating all the Block 30 stocks, and the modernization of Blocks 40 and 50 will come later.

Turkish media reported that this is indeed the first phase of the Ozgur project. When all the F-16s pass through Phase 2 in Ozguz, according to local experts, the Turkish F-16s will get significantly closer to the newer version of the F-16 Block 70.

Turkey will upgrade 79 F-16s and if Ankara is granted permission to acquire the Block 70, the Balkan state’s F-16 fleet will reach 119. The order, which is being reviewed by the US State Department, will be finalized with approval from the US Congress and However, some senators and representatives in the US Congress oppose Turkey’s request to purchase F-16 Block 70 fighters.