Turkey In Talks To Buy More F-16s As It Struggles To Revamp Fighter Fleet (Updated)
The Turkish Air Force is at a crossroads after having been dumped out of the Joint Strike Fighter program.
Tag: Erdogan
Turkey And Russia Announce New Buffer Zone In Syria After Brutal Spate Of Violence
Turkey and Russia have cut a deal that will put a new ceasefire in place between forces aligned with Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad and anti-regime forces in northwestern Syria. It also lays out plans for a formal buffer zone between the two groups that Turkish and Russian troops will patrol together.
Russians Tag Along With Assad’s Forces To Deter Turkish Strikes As Syrian Air War Heats Up
The conflict in Syria has entered a new, dangerous, and uncertain phase as Russian troops have escorted forces aligned with Syrian dictator Bashar Al Assad into the country’s hotly contested Idlib province. This comes a day after Turkey officially declared a major intervention in that region, shooting down multiple Syrian Air Force combat jets in its opening stages.
Turkey Asks America To Send Patriot Missiles To Its Border As Its Troops Die In Syria Airstrikes
The Turkish government has reportedly asked its American counterparts to deploy a pair of Patriot surface-to-air missile system batteries along its southern border with Syria. This news came amid the announcement of the death of two Turkish troops, and the wounding of five more, in an airstrike in northwestern Syria. The request is politically fraught from the start due to a number of factors, including an ongoing spat between Turkey and the United States in part over the former’s purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems and the risks of sparking a wider conflict if American air defenders were to shoot down a Russian combat jet.
President Erdogan Says Intel Operatives Are In Libya Ahead Of Turkish Troop Deployment
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has publicly acknowledged that his country intelligence operatives have already been actively engaged in Libya a day after formally announcing plans to deploy Turkish troops to that country to support the internationally-recognized government in Tripoli. This comes as forces loyal to rogue General Khalifa Haftar appear to have taken control of the city of Sirte along the central Libyan coast. Haftar says authorities in Tripoli are illegitimate and has the backing of the United Arab Emirates, Egypt, and Russia, among others.
Bizarre Airstrip Is Being Built Right Between Apartment Towers Near Libyan Capital
A new airstrip is emerging in the middle of a residential development, with part of its runway sandwiched right between towering apartment blocks, just outside Libya’s official capital Tripoli. This comes amid reports that Turkey has begun deploying fighters from Syria as part of its increasingly active support for the internationally recognized Government of National Accord, or GNA.
USAF Is Spending Millions To Upgrade Turkey Bases Amid Turkish Threats To Kick Them Out
The U.S. Air Force has announced that it will pay eight different Turkish firms 10s of millions of dollars to update the infrastructure and complete other construction projects at facilities it operates in that country over the next five years. This comes amid threats from Turkey’s government, including President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to suspend or outright terminate American access to various bases in the country, including Incirlik Air Base, where the United States presently stores approximately 50 B61 nuclear gravity bombs.
Turkish President Erdogan Poaches Training Yacht From The Country’s Navy
It has emerged that the Turkish Navy turned over the yacht Yakamoz, which it had been using as a training and auxiliary staff transport ship, to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s office more than a year ago. How Erdogan or his staff has been making use of the vessel since then is unclear, but the transfer fits with other efforts the Turkish government has pursued to expand the often lavish executive transport options, including a VVIP-configured Boeing 747-8i jet acquired from Qatar last year, as well as other amenities, available to the country’s head of state.
U.S. Reviewing Options For Pulling Nuclear Bombs Out Of Turkey, Here’s How They Might Do It
The U.S. government is reportedly examining multiple plans for how it might remove approximately 50 B61 nuclear gravity bombs it keeps in ready storage at the American-operated portion of Turkey’s Incirlik Air Base. This comes a week after Turkey launched an operation into northern Syria that precipitated an all-new crisis in the region and prompted at least a tactical withdrawal of U.S. forces from much of the country amid concerns they could be caught in the fighting.
Top Senator And Trump Ally Pushes For Arms Embargo On Turkey After Syria Invasion Begins
Senator Lidnsey Graham, a South Carolina Republican and major political ally of President Donald Trump, has called for an arms embargo and host of other sanctions against Turkey is newly proposed piece of legislation. The draft bill came just hours after Turkish forces, and local partners, launched a new operation into northeastern Syria primarily targeting the U.S.-backed predominantly Kurdish Syrian Defense Forces, or SDF.