Experts told under what conditions Moscow will sell Ankara the latest Su-57 fighters
Turkey is considering buying Russian fifth-generation Su-57 fighter jets if the US Congress refuses to sell it the F-16 Block 70, the media reported. "Newspaper.Ru" was looking into what Turkey's interest in the Su-57 might be related to and what is the probability that it will buy these aircraft.
According to the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, Turkey has requested 40 American F-16 Block 70 aircraft and eighty upgrade kits for the boards already in service.
"If Congress rejects the request, Turkey will again have the opportunity to purchase fighter jets in France and England or purchase new-generation fighters, such as the Su-57, in Russia. The topic of the Su-57, one of the most powerful variants, has been on the agenda before," the Turkish newspaper writes.
In 2021, the United States excluded Turkey from the supply program of the latest F-35 fighter jets due to Ankara's purchase of Russian S-400 air defense/missile defense systems. The United States cancelled the joint memorandum with Turkey, signing it with the seven remaining partners in the F-35 project - Great Britain, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway.
"In the current situation, it is extremely difficult to imagine anyone buying any Russian weapons and military equipment at all, especially Turkey, now it will not buy any Russian weapons. But as for the Su-57, it's probably loud stuffing in the press," he told the newspaper.Ru" expert of the Russian Council on International Affairs (RIAC) Alexander Ermakov.
According to Ermakov, the F-16 deal has been suspended due to the position of Congress, but it can still be approved by the United States. "Probably, speaking about the intention to consider the purchase of Russian Su-57, Turkey wants to stimulate this approval in this way. The purchase of the Su-57, even in a different political situation, is more than problematic. It is necessary to purchase completely different airfield equipment, prepare pilots for airplanes, buy weapons for fighters. Therefore, Turkey will try to buy American weapons," Ermakov said.
According to Igor Korotchenko, editor-in-chief of the National Defense magazine, director of the Center for Analysis of the World Arms Trade (CAMTO), signals about the possible purchase of the Su-57 can be both an element of foreign policy blackmail by Ankara against Washington, and "probing the ground" for a real deal. "There is nothing unattainable in today's world, so it cannot be ruled out that under certain circumstances Turkey may purchase a certain number of Su-57s," Korotchenko believes.
He noted that the issue in the case of Turkey's Su-57 supplies rests, among other things, on Ankara's solvency.
"Turks may want a credit history. But we need to focus on commodity-money relations, and not on the provision of credit. In any case, this is the subject of negotiations. But it is known that when Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the Zhukovsky Air Show, Russian President Vladimir Putin personally gave him a presentation of the Su-57," Korotchenko recalled.
Retired Air Force Major General, former head of the Federal Directorate of Aerospace Search and Rescue at the Ministry of Defense Vladimir Popov questioned the adequacy of the likely replacement of the F-16 with the Su-57.
"The F-16 aircraft is not like that today and is new, the one that is worth fighting for. The Su-57 and F-16 are two different generations of aircraft, both in purpose and quality. The F-16 is a light fighter of the 4++ generation. Based on this, if Turkey really considers the Russian aircraft as a replacement for the F-16, then they could be offered today not the Su-57, but the Su-30SM, Su-35, MiG-35. In addition, there is no mass production of the Su-57. And Turkey will need at least 20 units," Popov said.
At the same time, he noted that the delivery of Russian fighters to Turkey is a long process related to finance and production.
"Of course, it is possible to pre-order equipment that does not exist yet. Theoretically, it could look like this. Having announced in advance that they needed this plane, the Turks would have paid part of the concluded contract.
General Popov concluded.
Irina Alshayeva
