US removes Türkiye from F-35 program, Russia immediately offers to sell Su-35 aircraft
After the US announced the removal of Türkiye from the F-35 program, Russia affirmed that it is ready to sell Su-35 to Ankara if it is interested.
Russia's state corporation Rostec is ready to supply Su-35 fighters to Türkiye if Ankara is "interested" in the deal, Rostec head Sergei Chemezov said on July 18.
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| Russian Su-35 fighter. Photo: Tass |
"If our Turkish partners are interested, we are ready to discuss the delivery of Su-35s," Chemezov said.
Russia's 4++ generation supersonic fighter Su-35S first appeared on February 19, 2008. The Su-35S weighs 19 tons, can fly at a maximum altitude of 20,000m and reach a maximum speed of 2,500 km/h. This fighter began performing missions in the Russian Army in 2015.
On July 17, a US State Department spokesman affirmed in a statement that Türkiye's decision to purchase Russia's S-400 missile defense system would cause Ankararemoved from the F-35 fighter jet production program.
Türkiye's Foreign Ministry has urged the US to reconsider the decision. Yesterday (August 18), the head of the Turkish defense industry, Ismail Demir, said that Turkey is ready to consider alternatives to the US F-35 if Washington refuses to transfer the fighter jet to Ankara.
"Türkiye is looking at alternatives. When one door closes, another opens. We also have our own door," Anadolu news agency quoted Mr. Demir as saying.
Previously, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also affirmed that if the US refused to sell F-35 to Türkiye, the country would sign contracts with other countries, including Russia.
