Ankara is likely to reverse its decision to purchase F-16 fighter jets from the United States due to the price as well as other more modern options being available, Cagri Erhan, a member of the Turkish Presidency's Security and Foreign Policies Council, told Sputnik in an interview, Report informs, citing foreign media.
"I believe that after the earthquakes, Türkiye will give up asking for F-16 because it is a $20 billion cost package," Erhan said.
He believes the Turkish government made a mistake by asking for F-16s, which Congress is still refusing to give under 'some pretext' and which are outdated and not competitive against other jets.
"Türkiye should immediately make a decision to change its decision from F-16 to some other.
For instance, F-35 was on the table. Türkiye was expecting from the program (to get F-35). Now we have other options like the Chinese jet, which was sold to Pakistan, Russian jets, and also the Eurofighter jet," Erhan stated.