Turkey opts for F-35 over Typhoon

The decision is not final yet as the Air Force is not the sole authority for a final decision. However, since its position is dominant and backed by the powerful General Staff, we can consider this move as a fact.

In the past few months, the selection process had been narrowed down to a choice between buying all F-35s and a mixed buy of the F-35s and Typhoons.

But the Air Force, whose fighter fleet is exclusively of U.S. design and which follows a strong American tradition, has apparently opted for an all-F-35 Lightning II solution now.

Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul and procurement chief Murad Bayar are due to meet with U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, Gordon England, deputy defense secretary, and other top U.S. defense officials in Washington Oct. 30. They will then visit the Lockheed Martin F-35 plant in Fort Worth, Texas, the officials said.

The Turkish team and their U.S. counterparts are expected to discuss final details for the planned deal.

A formal announcement on the fighter selection is expected in December.

The new-generation fighter program, Turkey's largest defense procurement project, is designed to replace the Air Force's aging F-16 and F-4E aircraft starting beginning in the mid-2010s.

The Eurofighter Typhoon is a twin-engine multi-role canard-delta strike fighter aircraft, designed and built by a consortium of European aerospace manufacturers formed in 1983. The project has been named and renamed a number of times since its inception, having been known as EFA (European Fighter Aircraft), Eurofighter, EF2000 (Eurofighter 2000), and most recently Typhoon.

Last July, the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter has been officially named "Lightning II".

Last week the U.S. Congress has formally approved a planned sale to the Turkish Air Force of 30 advanced F-16 Block 50 fighter aircraft and related equipment and services, worth up to $2.9 billion.

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