Turkey agrees to resume deliveries of F-35 fighter jets

The issue of resuming deliveries of American fifth-generation F-35 fighter jets to Turkey may be resolved by the end of the year. This is the hope expressed by US Ambassador to Ankara Tom Barrack, reports European Pravda with reference to Bloomberg.

The American diplomat noted that the United States and Turkey are ready to reconsider their positions in negotiations on the supply of fighter jets. According to the official, meetings at the level of the leaders of the countries are expected to take place soon to discuss this issue.

At the same time, Bloomberg emphasizes that Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, after meeting with US President Donald Trump at the NATO summit last week, declared the White House leader's "goodwill" regarding the issue of selling F-35 fighter jets to Ankara.

Turkey participated in the F-35 fighter jet production program, investing $1.3 billion in the project. However, after Ankara purchased Russian S-400 air defense systems, the United States excluded it from the program and banned the sale of fifth-generation fighters.

In parallel, Turkey is developing its own fifth-generation aircraft. On February 21, 2024, the Turkish advanced fighter KAAN, in the creation of which Ukrainian enterprises also participated, made its first flight. The then Ukrainian ambassador to Turkey, Vasyl Bodnar, stated on CNN Türk that Ukraine plans to purchase these Turkish aircraft.

In addition, the Turkish company Baykar continues to test the Bayraktar KIZILELMA unmanned fighter, which is equipped with AI-322F engines from the Ukrainian SE "Ivchenko-Progress".