Free Republic

On the night of July 15, elements of the Turkish military rose up against Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and very nearly succeeded in killing or capturing their controversial leader. A few military units remained steadfastly loyal to the embattled president. Among them — the 1st Main Jet Base in Eskisehir in northwestern Turkey. The base’s F-4E Terminator 2020 fighters flew to Erdogan’s aid during the direst hours of the daylong attempted coup. But the aged fighters were no match for the much newer F-16s that the rebels had commandeered. Turkish air force squadrons led the ultimately failed coup. Apparently following many months of...

After the latest incident involving McDonnell Douglas RF-4E/TMs, in which four crew members were killed when two of the aircraft crashed in southeast Turkey, the nation has decided to retire the type after a 35-year service life. On 24 February, two RF-4Es crashed during an approach for landing. According to information released by the Turkish air force, the aircraft were flying in cloud during the night-time approach. The crash area was about 7.5nm (14km) from the runway at Malatya/Erhac air base. An F-4E was also lost in Konya province on 5 March. Turkey received its first batch of RF-4Es in...

Turkey Requests New Bid from Eurofighter By Ibrahim TUrkmen, London Published: Friday, July 21, 2006 zaman.com The Turkish Air Force requested a new bid from Eurofighter as part of efforts to strengthen its forces by replacing its planes with a new generation of jet fighters. In response to the Turkish Ministry of Defense’s decision to increase the number of jet fighters it will purchase, Eurofighter’s producer, Aeronautica, began to prepare lower prices for the tender. The company will also issue a response to Turkey regarding its demands for partnership, technology transfers, and industrial participation. Authorities evaluate Turkey’s new demand about...