Turkey set to ‘go Russian' and acquire Sukhois to take place of F-35

Turkey, now ejected from the Lockheed Martin F-35 programme, may be poised to make a major change in procurement policy and acquire advanced fighters from Russia. Such a decision would align with a previous Turkish procurement in which US and other NATO-nation air defence systems were rejected in favour of the Russian Almaz-Antei S-400.

That S-400 purchase is what initially led to Turkey being pushed out of the F-35 project over concerns that Turkey’s operation of the S-400 could put radar signals analysis of the F-35 in the hands of the Russians.

Turkish news outlets have reported that negotiations between Moscow and Ankara on the purchase of the Sukhoi Su-35 ‘Super Flanker’ began shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Russian President Vladimir Putin held one-to-one discussions at the August 2019 Moscow Air Show. The negotiations reportedly took two months to finalise.

Russian President Vladimir Putin and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan look over a Sukhoi Su-57 on 27 August at this year’s Moscow Air Show. A deal under which Turkey will acquire Su-35s and Su-57s has reportedly been sealed. (Mikhail Svetlov/Getty Images)

That said, as recently as 29 October Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar was denying any Su-35 deal, reportedly maintaining, “We are F-35 partners, and we say give us what is rightfully ours.”

The initial Russian proposal was that Turkey join the Su-57 programme to replace its F-35 acquisition plans. This idea was initially declined, with a Turkish counterproposal including two streams of activity. The first was the acquisition of 36 Su-35s, with a contract signing to be announced by the end of this year. Turkish interest in the Su-35 has been partially based on evaluation of its performance in the Russian air campaign over Syria.