Russia Prepared to Sell Turkey Advanced Fighter Jets

F-35 not the only option for Turkey

The Pentagon has made a big deal about punishing Turkey by expelling them from the F-35 program, and costing them the opportunity to buy very, very expensive US-made warplanes.

Officials from Russia’s Rostec say they’d be keen to remind Turkey that they also make some really advanced fighter jets of their own, and that Turkey is free to buy Su-35 jets if they can’t buy the F-35.

The Su-35 isn’t a stealth fighter, like the F-35, but it also costs less than half as much and is still a very advanced multi-role jet in its own right.  It isn’t really competing with the F-35 either since the US is refusing to sell those to them anymore.

The Su-35 has been used as an escort by Russia in Syria, and has become an increasingly popular export for Russia. Egypt announced back in March that they intend to buy over two dozen such planes, a move that similarly led the US to threaten sanctions.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.