Lockheed Martin Displays F-16 Scale Model with Turkish Flag at IDEF-2023

Lockheed Martin displayed a scale model of the F-16 jet with the Turkish flag at the IDEF-2023 exhibition in Istanbul.

The company only included F-16 Block 70 fighters at its booth. The 1/10 scale model of the jet was showcased with 8 AIM-120 AMRAAM Over-Sight Air Missiles, 2 AIM-9X In-Sight Air-Air Missiles, 3 Underbody External Fuel Tanks and various pods.

After the F-35A Lightning II embargo, Turkey has had a demand for F-16 Blok 70 fighter jets from the USA for a while. The aforementioned request has been waiting for the approval of the US Senate for a very long time. Although the Biden administration supports the sale of the F-16 Blok 70 to Turkey, some US Senators, such as Bob Menendez, are against the sale.

Jake Sullivan, the U.S. national security adviser, hinted recently that Washington and Ankara were inching close towards signing the $20 billion F-16 contract after a previous F-35 deal hit the snag over Ankara’s purchase of Russian S-400 missile systems.

Turkey has been seeking to buy 40 new F-16 fighter jets as well as nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes from the U.S., looking to revamp and refresh its aging fleet.

Turkey has put into effect a record contract worth 52 billion Turkish Liras ($2 billion) for the F-16 Avionic Modernization Project, named ÖZGÜR-2.