Turkey's decision to purchase Russian S-400 air defense systems provoked strong opposition and sanctions from the United States. The United States disqualified Turkey from participating in the F-35 fighter program and confiscated some of the money Turkey had already paid. This has put Turkey's air force in a difficult situation, as its main fighters, the F-16C D and F-4, are aging and in dire need of a replacement. In this case, Turkey has set its sights on the Thunder Dragon fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan, can this fighter become Turkey's savior? This article will compare the performance of the two fighters and analyze why Turkey would consider buying the Thunder.
1. Why does Turkey fall in love with the Thunder?
Recently, it was reported that Turkey intends to buy China-Pakistan Thunder Dragon fighters to make up for the lack of F-35. This news has caused heated discussions among netizens.
According to reports, Turkey chose the S-400 air defense system because it is more advanced and cheaper than the Patriot system supplied by the United States, and it is not under the control of the United States. But this choice has come at a heavy cost to Turkey, as the United States has not only cut off Turkey's access to the F-35, but also threatened to impose more sanctions on Turkey.
Turkey's air force faces serious challenges, with most of its active fighters in service being in service for more than 20 years, struggling to cope with an increasingly complex security situation. Especially in the recent Palestinian-Israeli conflict, Israel has demonstrated its advanced warplanes and equipment, which has put pressure on Turkey and stimulated its desire to show its strength in this area.
Therefore, Turkey began to search for suitable fighters around the world. Initially, Turkey wanted to buy European Typhoon fighters or the latest version of the American F-16, but both fighters were intervened by the United States and Germany, making it impossible for Turkey to get their hands on them.
Under these circumstances, the Thunder Dragon fighter jointly developed by China and Pakistan has attracted the attention of Turkey. This fighter has received orders from several countries in recent years, showing good performance and potential. The Turkish Air Force** also personally visited Pakistan to inspect the Thunder fighter and spoke highly of it. Some military commentators believe that the Thunder fighter is more reliable and flexible than Western fighters, and may be the best choice for Turkey.
2. Can Thunder meet the needs of Turkey?
In fact, the Thunder has enough strength to meet Turkey's needs in terms of performance, or it can be used as a transitional fighter.
Turkey's ultimate goal is to develop its own fifth-generation aircraft "Kaan". According to China Aviation News Network, Turkey's defense and aviation departments announced that the "Kaan" fifth-generation aircraft will make its first flight this month and is expected to gradually replace the F-16 after 2030.
However, the project did not go well, and Turkish defense analyst Eich was skeptical of it. He believes that the fifth-generation aircraft is a cutting-edge technology, which not only requires a high level of technology, but also requires strong economic capabilities, a complete aviation industry chain and a broad market. Even an economy like the United States can only unite with other countries to reduce the F-35's ** to less than $100 million. And Turkey is currently facing serious economic problems, and it is difficult to guarantee the smooth progress of the "Kaan" project.
What's more, the "Kaan" project is not completely free from American influence, it uses AIM-9 air-to-air missiles and F-110 turbofan engines, both American-made. This means that the United States can still exert pressure and restraint on Turkey's air force.
In this case, the Thunder fighter is even more attractive. The latest model of the Thunder fighter, the Block III, has already begun mass production, which is equipped with the KLJ-7A radar and the Thunderbolt-15 missile, which can track and strike multiple targets at the same time, has strong battlefield situational awareness, and can accurately lock on to the Su-100MKI even from a distance of 30 kilometers.
3. Will Turkey's unreasonable demands affect the transaction?
However, according to ** reports, while Turkey offered to buy Thunder fighters, it also put forward an "unreasonable" condition.
That is, Turkey requires the Thunder fighter to replace the original data transmission system with Turkey's own system to meet NATO standards.
This may seem reasonable, but in reality it carries risks. Once we agree to Turkey's request, then the Thunder will become, in a sense, a NATO-type fighter wearing a cloak made in China and Pakistan. This can pose a threat to our security.
Moreover, some experts believe that Turkey does not really want to buy the Thunder, but wants to use it to increase its bargaining chips with the United States and Europe, and send them a signal that "without you, there is China" in order to maximize its interests.
Therefore, it is unlikely that Turkey will buy the Thunder, and there are still many uncertainties in this deal.
However, having said that, Turkey's move also reflects the fact from another angle, that is, whether Turkey buys the Thunder or not, it cannot change the huge pressure that Chinese fighters have brought to the United States and the West.
In addition to fifth-generation aircraft and H-6K fighters, the Thunder developed jointly by China and Pakistan has already competed and challenged the F-16 and other foreign trade fighters of the United States, and the Thunder fighter has already formed a competition and challenge to the F-16 and other foreign trade fighters of the United States. On the one hand, the Thunder fighter is relatively cheap, and on the other hand, the performance of the Thunder fighter is not inferior to the F-16. The Thunder fighter has received orders from Argentina, Nigeria, Malaysia and other countries, showing its influence in the international market.
What's more worth mentioning is that the Thunder Dragon fighter has shown strong combat effectiveness in the multinational joint air exercise in 2023. The Thunder fighters had many confrontations with F-15, F-16 and other fighters, and as a result, the Thunder fighters gained the upper hand and even shot down several F-16s. This scene shocked and unnerved the United States and the West.
In short, the Thunder and other Chinese fighters have proved China's technological level and manufacturing capabilities in the aviation field, which has brought tremendous pressure to the United States and the West. It seems that this time the United States is going to be nervous.
Conclusion: It remains to be seen whether Turkey will buy the Thunder, but in any case, the Thunder is an excellent fighter that we should be proud of.