Turkey will consider purchasing Russian fighter jets as well if the United States refuses to deliver it the F-35 aircraft, Bloomberg reported.
According to the agency, Ankara has stockpiled crucial spare parts for American-made weapons in case Congress sanctions it over a contentious Russian missile purchase.
In late May, Yeni Safak reported that Turkey considers replacing F-35 with Russia's Su-57, if the F-35 project is dumped following the S-400 purchase.
Meanwhile, the first batch of S-400s will be delivered to Turkey in 7-10 days.
The United States earlier threatened to remove Turkey from it's F-35 program after Ankara refused to scrap a deal with Russia to buy Moscow's cutting-edge S-400 missile systems, which Washington claimed could compromise US-made aircraft.
A military observer of the TASS news agency, retired Colonel Viktor Litovkin, speaking earlier to Vestnik Kavkaza, noted that Russia has something to offer Turkey instead of the U.S. fighter jets. "If we talk about Ankara's search to replace the F-35 fighter jets, then our Su-35 jet is no worse, it can completely replace the F-35. Of course, the problem is that Turkey has financially invested in the consortium that produces F-35, along with other nine countries, so the Americans are obliged to give Turkey those 100 jets, which were ordered and paid-up, so Ankara will look for ways to get these fighters. But if it is impossible, Turkey can give Russia an order for the Su-35," he said.
Professor at Kahramanmaraş Sütçü İmam University Togrul İsmayil also said that the purchase of Russian fighters is possible. "Among the countries that can replace these aircraft, Russia stands out for its experience and high quality fighters. Naturally, Turkey will consider aircraft purchases in Russia as an alternative - the Americans are not monopolists in this matter," Togrul İsmayil stressed.
