Turks: What if we get F-16 Viper since Greece has got Rafale with Meteors that have a range of 320 km and a no escape zone of 100 km.
The well-known pro-government columnist of the Turkish newspaper Milliyet made an admission.
According to Ozai Sendir, even if the US agrees to sell us the F-16 Block 70 and modernize the Turkish ones “not all of Turkey’s problems will be solved”.
As Ozai Sentir reports, Greece “received Rafale planes from France as well as Meteor missiles with a range of 320 kilometers”.
The well-known Turkish columnist notes that “this air-to-air missile has a range almost three times longer than the AIM-120 missile” used by Turkey.
Turkos emphasizes that the Meteor missiles have a no escape zone of 100 km, while the AIM type missiles used by Turkey have a no escape zone of 55 km.
“This is not the only problem, the ASEA radar in the nose of the Rafale aircraft is more effective and has more advanced features than the mechanical return radars of our current F-16s,” he adds.
“In other words,” Turkos writes, “a Greek Rafale aircraft has the opportunity to spot our F-16 earlier and launch its missile.”
Ozai Cedir notes that the domestic Turkish 5th generation TF-X fighter jet “will enter the stock of the Armed Forces from 2030.”
“Meanwhile, Baykar’s Kızılelma unmanned aerial vehicle project continues at full speed. Apart from Turkey, only US and Chinese companies are currently working on an unmanned combat aircraft with stealth, powered by artificial intelligence,” it says.
Turkos notes that the Turkish defense industry can fill the gap with Greece, without Turkey having to pay billions like Athens.
