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.
When Lt. Col. Dustin Johnson was ordered to deploy to the Middle East last year, he and his fellow F-22 Raptor pilots prepared for an unusual challenge. As the U.S.’s premier air superiority fighter, the F-22 was designed to take on advanced enemy aircraft, capable of maneuvering stealthily and cruising at…