Türkiye is advancing two Western arms files at once — 40 F-16 Block 70 jets from Lockheed Martin and the SAMP/T air-defence system via Italy — heading into the Ankara summit.
Türkiye is advancing two major Western procurement files in parallel. One is a deal for 40 new F-16 Block 70 “Viper” fighters from the United States and Lockheed Martin. The other is the SAMP/T air-defence system, pursued through Italy’s side of Europe’s Eurosam consortium. Both are moving as the alliance heads into the NATO summit in Ankara on 7–8 July.
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The F-16 Block 70 track
Türkiye is buying 40 new-build F-16 Block 70 jets from Lockheed Martin, along with modernization kits for 79 of its existing F-16s. Turkish officials say the Letter of Offer and Acceptance is in force after an initial payment.
A firm production contract had not been announced publicly as of early June. Talks continue over price, the aircraft’s configuration, and Türkiye’s demand for access to the F-16’s mission-computer source code. Ankara wants that access so it can fit its own systems, developed under the national ÖZGÜR upgrade program. First deliveries are not expected before 2027.
The F-16 became Türkiye’s fallback after it lost the F-35. Ankara was removed from the F-35 program and placed under US sanctions after it bought the Russian S-400 air-defence system in 2019. The Viper order, and the upgrades, are how the Turkish Air Force plans to hold its fighter strength until the indigenous KAAN arrives. Türkiye is separately in talks for the Eurofighter Typhoon.
The SAMP/T and Eurosam track
In April, Bloomberg reported that Türkiye had opened a new round of talks with Italy to buy and co-produce the SAMP/T air-defence system. The system is built by Eurosam, a Franco-Italian group formed by the missile house MBDA and the electronics firm Thales. Türkiye first signed a feasibility agreement with Eurosam in 2018.
France held the project back for years. Italy has been the willing partner and supports joint production. Turkish firms Aselsan and Roketsan are expected to work on radar integration, fire control and missile subsystems.
The push follows the 2026 war with Iran, when Iranian missiles fired toward Turkish territory were intercepted by NATO assets. That exposed gaps in Türkiye’s long-range air defence. In June, Italy deployed one of its own SAMP/T batteries to Türkiye under NATO’s Standing Defence Plan, stationing it at the 3rd Main Jet Base in Konya. That deployment is separate from the sale talks, but it points the same way.
Steel Dome and the Ankara summit
Both the F-16 and SAMP/T feed into Türkiye’s “Steel Dome,” the layered air-defence network Ankara is building from foreign and domestic systems. Türkiye is also developing indigenous interceptors, including the Siper and Hisar families, alongside the KAAN fighter.
Both files are active as NATO leaders prepare to meet in Ankara on 7–8 July, a summit the alliance has framed around defence-industrial cooperation. No firm F-16 production contract has been signed, and the SAMP/T purchase remains in talks.
