Russia’s state arms exporter Rosoboronexport has expressed a willingness to expand cooperation with Turkey for the delivery of aircraft including both fixed-wing fighters and helicopters, with the head of a delegation from the firm, Denis Gizunov, stating this in an interview with state media outlet TASS at the IDEF 21 international defense industry show in Istanbul. "We are holding certain consultations on their TF-X [Turkish Fighter-Experimental] program [the program of creating the Turkish latest fifth-generation fighter] to render assistance to the Turkish side.
Moreover, we are ready for a broader dialogue. Beyond a doubt, the Su-35 aircraft is a potential product to promote to Turkey, but the Turkish side has not yet finally decided on the aircraft that will be linked to the cooperation program. But we are ready for developing cooperation in this way. In any case, the promotion of not only air defense systems but also aircraft and helicopters is an additional offer in the Turkish direction," he said.
This follows a statement in March by the spokesman for the Russian Federal Service for Military and Technical Cooperation, Valeria Reshetnikova, that Russia was ready to hold negotiations with Ankara on the potential delivery of not only the Su-35 but also the more advanced Su-57 fighter in which Turkish officials previously appeared to show a strong interest.
Regarding other possible avenues of defense cooperation, Gizunov noted: "We continue working with Turkish partners [on the delivery of the second regiment set of S-400 systems to Turkey] and there are certain issues that must be completed.
The Turkish side is interested in signing a contract for the second regiment set. Largely speaking, this is also a priority for Turkish colleagues. We are continuing talks not only on the S-400s because we have other projects, including the hardware that ensures their protection.” He elaborated that Rosoboronexport "has quite an interesting package of offers for the Turkish side," stressing that “the Turkish customer is a priority for us.” Turkey made its first moves towards acquiring the S-400 air defences system in late 2016, after blaming the United States and many of its partners for attempting to organize a coup in the country that year. Its purchase of the S-400, and broader strains in relations, led the U.S. to evict Turkey from the F-35 fighter program, with Turkey having been set to manufacture several hundred components and acquire over 100 fighters.
Turkey subsequently showed an interest in acquiring high-end fighters and further S-400 units from Russia, with the possibility of Russian assistance for its own troubled fighter program the TF-X having been raised multiple times.
