Turkey mulls 20 more F-35 fighters

Turkey is mulling over paying an extra USD 2 billion to purchase twenty more F-35 Joint Strike Fighters (JSF) to raise its order quantity for the aircraft to 120.

"We may buy 120 JSF aircraft, instead of 100," head of the Undersecretariat for Defense Industries, Murad Bayar, was quoted as saying by Hurriyet newspaper.

Turkey's potential decision to buy 120 F-35s would increase the cost of Ankara's program from USD 11 billion to at least USD 13 billion. The country's eventual decision on the number of fighters to be acquired will depend on the amount of finance available in the forthcoming years.

The fifth-generation Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II is a single-seat, single-engine and multi-role fighter. The aircraft can conduct air-to-air and air-to-ground combat missions.

The F-35 Lightning II is manufactured in three variants; conventional takeoff and landing (CTOL), carrier variant (CV) as well as a short takeoff/vertical landing (STOVL).

In addition to Turkey, the United Kingdom, Netherlands and Italy are among the countries that have ordered the F-35.