According to the Asian Military Defense newspaper, the Turkish Air Force is facing a difficult situation with a fighter upgrade program. Since no progress has been made in the procurement of F-16V fighter upgrade kits, and at the same time Germany has blocked attempts to purchase European Typhoon fighters, the country seems to be in despair. In such a situation, Turkey has even begun to consider working with Pakistan to purchase JF-17 Thunder fighter jets to replace its aging F-16 fighters. 
The Turkish Air Force has a large number of F-16 fighters, the history of their procurement dates back to the early 90s of the last century. At that time, Turkey decided to purchase F-16 fighter jets in order to increase the combat capabilities of its air force. Over time, the number of F-16 fighters in the Turkish Air Force has increased. Currently, the Turkish Air Force has more than 200 F-16 fighters, making it one of the countries with the most F-16 fighters in the region. The fighters were procured primarily from the United States and have undergone several upgrades and modifications to meet the operational needs of the Turkish Air Force. However, relations between the United States and Turkey took a sharp turn for the worse in 2016 following an attempted military coup in Turkey and the announcement of the purchase of S-400 anti-aircraft missile systems from Russia. As a result, the United States immediately cut off its supply of Turkish F-16 components and froze Turkey's plans to purchase subsequent F-16s. This move has undoubtedly caused great trouble for Turkey's military defense plans. 
When the F-16 upgrade plan was not available, Turkish Chief of General Staff Guller held talks with British Defense Minister Sharps in Ankara on November 23 to discuss plans to purchase the latest Typhoon fighter jets. Turkey wants to acquire the most advanced and new Typhoon fighters to compensate for the uncertainty of purchasing F-16 fighters from the United States. Earlier, Ghurl had said that Turkey was in talks with Britain and Spain about the purchase of Typhoon fighters, but Germany objected to this. So far, Turkey has hoped that Germany will change its position, however, Germany has apparently not been persuaded to change its position. The root cause of this is Turkey's strong condemnation of Israel's attack on Gaza, Germany's "staunch" ally. 
Despite the difficult situation, Turkey has not given up its efforts to seek military cooperation. Due to special factors such as religion, Turkey and Pakistan have always maintained close relations. Previously, Pakistan had purchased a batch of T-129 armed *** from Turkey as a competitive product before the Z-10E was exported. The two countries also have extensive cooperation in the field of drones. Therefore, Turkey even hopes that Pakistan will pull it along and strengthen military cooperation between the two countries by purchasing the Kaan "Khan", a fifth-generation aircraft developed by the two countries. 
At this critical juncture, Turkey's military defense plans face unprecedented challenges. However, by cooperating with countries such as Pakistan, it may be possible to open a new path for Turkey, providing more options and possibilities for its future military defense. Take the latest version of the JF-17 "Thunder" Block 3 that Pakistan is about to be installed in large quantities as an example, although the size of the aircraft cannot be compared with the F-16, its performance is not inferior to the latest model of the F-16. JF-17 "Thunder" Block has advanced technology and powerful performance, the aircraft is equipped with KLJ-7A active phased array radar, with air-to-air, air-to-ground, air-sea and navigation coverage capabilities. At the same time, due to the full-waveform design of high, medium and low pulse repetition frequency, the radar also has the ability to detect and track targets in all directions, at all heights and in all weather. This allows the JF-17 Thunder Block 3 to better perceive its surroundings and detect and track targets in a timely manner. 
The JF-17 Thunder Block 3 also adopts advanced avionics systems, including advanced navigation, communication, and advanced control systems. These systems enable the JF-17 Thunder Block 3 to achieve precise navigation, efficient communication, and more flexible control, improving combat efficiency. The JF-17 Thunder Block 3 can carry a variety of types, including air-to-air missiles, air-to-surface missiles, precision-guided bombs, and more. These ** enable the aircraft to effectively perform anti-ship, air supremacy, ground strike and other tasks. 
While the JF-17 cannot be compared with the most advanced F-35** fighters, the JF-17 is quite good in terms of its price-performance ratio. Considering Turkey's limited national strength, it can completely abandon the idea of upgrading the F-16 fleet, concentrate on and funds to accelerate the development of the "Khan" fifth-generation aircraft, and during this period, only a batch of JF-17 "Thunder" Block 3 needs to be purchased to meet the transition needs.