The Turkish newspaper, the Hürriyet Daily News, is reporting that Turkey is expected to purchase a second pair of F-35 Joint Strike Fighter aircraft to be delivered in 2016. The first pair is set for delivery in 2015, the newspaper notes.
More from the publication:
Turkey will likely order a second pair of the jointly-made, next-generation, stealth fighter F-35 Joint Strike Fighter Lightning II aircraft, as it did earlier this year following the production of the first two, a senior procurement official said over the weekend.
In 2006, the United States warned that excessive concurrency in F-35 production and testing might result in expensive refits for several hundred aircraft planned to be produced before the completion of tests, bringing the unit price to over $150 million.
“We are planning to use funds from our Defense Industry Support Fund for the first four aircraft. Two are set for delivery in 2015, and another two for 2016,” the procurement official said. “Later, we will be expecting the creation of a special fund to finance the rest of the program.”
Turkey is expected to eventually buy around 100 F-35s, although the figure may rise up to 120.
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