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Home Americas Turkey ‘Shortlists’ Rafale Fighters For Its Air Force As US
Congress Unlikely...


TURKEY ‘SHORTLISTS’ RAFALE FIGHTERS FOR ITS AIR FORCE AS US CONGRESS UNLIKELY TO
CLEAR F-16 SALES – TOP COMMANDER

By
Tanmay Kadam
-
July 26, 2022
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan allegedly expressed interest in
purchasing Rafale fighter jets from France in a phone call with French President
Emmanuel Macron.

> No Match To J-20s: Chinese Military Analyst Trashes New KF-21 Fighters; Says
> Incomparable To Even China’s 2nd Stealth Jet

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On July 16, the Turkish Directorate of Communications said in a press release
that President Erdogan spoke with President Macron on various matters, including
grain export from Ukraine and the joint defense program with France and Italy
based on the SAMP/T air-defense missile system from Eurosam.

However, the press release did not mention the Rafale fighter jets.

Shortly after the news of the conversation between the two Presidents, a
prominent Turkish military commentator, Retired Lieutenant General Dr. Erdoğan
Karakuş, appeared on a panel discussion hosted by ‘A Haber,’ a nationwide TV
channel in Turkey, where he suggested that President Erdogan may have discussed
Rafales with his French counterpart.

President Macron (Left) and President Erdogan (Right) (Turkey’s Directorate of
Communication)

According to Karakuş, amid possibilities of the US rejecting Turkey’s request
for 40 US F-16 Viper jets and 80 old-generation F-16C/D, Turkey is considering
acquiring French Rafales. While US President Joe Biden favors selling the
fighter jets, American lawmakers are at odds with this sale.


US MAY REJECT TURKEY’S REQUEST FOR F-16S

Two days before the phone call between the Turkish and French Presidents, the US
House of Representatives passed legislation barring the US administration from
selling or transferring F-16s to Turkey unless the administration certifies that
doing so is critical to US national security and takes strong measures to make
sure that the fighter jets are not used for “unauthorized overflights” of
Greece.

According to Karakuş, Biden cannot approve the sale under pressure from Congress
and for fear of losing the votes of the Greek and Armenian lobbies. “Does he
(President Biden) really want to give F-16s to Turkey? He doesn’t want it,”
Karakuş said.

A Rafale armed with various munitions. (Dassault Aviation image)

“Congress did not approve,” Karakuş noted while further explaining that he drew
“such a conclusion from Erdoğan’s meeting with Macron. I think Turkey has
started to research Rafale planes as well.”


CAN FRANCE SELL RAFALES TO BOTH GREECE & TURKEY? 

Tensions between Turkey and Greece have led both countries to seek aid from
foreign countries to bolster their respective military strength. If there is any
truth to the assertions made by Karakuş, it would seem that France is looking to
benefit from both sides.

France has already signed a deal with Greece to supply 24 Rafale fighter jets,
six of which were delivered in January 2022.

See more

> Watch: Greece gets Rafale aircraft from France; Greek priest bless jets & the
> pilots, in a ceremony similar to "Shastra Puja" performed by Indian Defence
> minister @DefenceMinIndia Rajnath Singh in 2019. pic.twitter.com/0Z6kHBHpjM
> 
> — Sidhant Sibal (@sidhant) January 20, 2022

To counter the threat from Hellenic Air Force’s fleet of Rafales, Turkey
reportedly decided to train its fighter pilots on Rafale fighter jets of the
Qatar Emiri Air Force (QeAF) so that Turkish fighter pilots would be familiar
with the platform and its capabilities, as per a previous EurAsian Times report.

As per the agreement between Qatar and Turkey, 36 Qatari jets and 250 military
personnel would reportedly be deployed in Turkey to train for five years with
the possibility of a one-year extension.

Rafale Fighter Via Dassault Aviation


RAFALES PREFERABLE FOR TURKEY OVER F-16S 

Ankara would be better off acquiring the 4.5 generation Rafale fighter jets, as
compared to the F-16s that are 3.5 generation fighters with 4th generation
capabilities. Also, Rafales are nuclear-capable fighters with semi-stealth
technology, a capability lacking in Turkey’s existing F-16 fleet, an expert
talking to EurAsian Times said.

An F-16 Fighting Falcon of the Turkish Air Force. (Wikimedia Commons)

Therefore, Rafales could be preferable for Turkey, especially considering Greece
has already requested a squadron of 5th generation F-35 stealth fighter jets
from the US.

Turkey was also a member of the F-35 Program, but it was later suspended because
Ankara decided to purchase the Russian S-400 air defense system.

Meanwhile, even Iraq is reportedly considering buying 14 French Rafale fighter
jets to counter the Turkish F-16s that regularly take part in Turkish military
operations targeting Kurdish militant groups hiding in northern Iraq.

> Petrifying Videos Show ‘Thermite Munitions’ Raining Fire From Sky On Ukraine’s
> Donetsk Region: Watch

See more

France will probably be prepared to sell Rafales to Iraq, in which case the
French-made warplanes could serve as interceptors for the Iraqi Air Force to
tackle Turkish aircraft, potentially interfering with Turkish counter-insurgency
operations, as per a recent EurAsian Times report.

Apart from Rafale, Turkey is also interested in Eurofighter Typhoon, a 4++
generation fighter jet. In May, Turkish Air Force Chief of Staff Hasan
Küçükakyüz visited the UK, during which he inspected the UK’s Quick Reaction
Alert that operates Typhoon aircraft.

 * Contact the author at tanmaykadam700@gmail.com
 * Follow EurAsian Times on Google News


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Previous articleNo Match To J-20s: Chinese Military Analyst Trashes New KF-21
Fighters; Says Incomparable To Even China’s 2nd Stealth Jet

Next articleBoeing Launches ‘Twin Attack’ On Dassault Rafales With F-15EX &
Super Hornets; Aims To Seize IAF, Navy Deals
Tanmay Kadam





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