Turkey wants to buy a squadron of USAF F-16 Vipers, a move that could spell an end to the planned upgrade of 48 F-4E fighter aircraft by Israel, according to Turkish Daily News. (It’s neighbor and sometimes nemesis, Greece, late last year said it would buy 30 more F-16s, with an option for another 10.) What effect this proposed purchase would have on Ankara’s deliberations to buy either the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter or the Eurofighter or a combination of the two is unclear. Turkey is a partner in the F-35s system development and demonstration phase, but has not announced its intent to purchase the JSF.
President Donald Trump’s nominee for Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff touted his highly unusual background for the job as an asset and reaffirmed his commitment to stay apolitical during a confirmation hearing before the Senate Armed Services Committee on April 1.