Turkey Signs Peace Onyx III Deal

Released on Tuesday, April 26, 2005

The governments of Turkey and the United States of America have signed a Letter of Offer and Acceptance (LOA) for the systems upgrade of Turkish F-16 aircraft under Peace Onyx III program at an estimated total value of $1.1 billion.

The Peace Onyx III upgrade will provide Turkish F-16 Block 40 and Block 50 aircraft with a common avionics configuration. Lockheed-Martin will be the main contractor for the Turkish F-16s program and TUSAS Aerospace Industries will perform upgrade kit integration in Turkey.

The F-16 configuration that will be supplied to Turkish F-16s will include AN/APG-68(V)9 multimode radar system, color cockpit displays and recorders, new core avionics processors, the Joint Helmet-Mounted Cueing System (JHMCS), Link 16 data link, advanced interrogator/transponder, integrated precision navigation, a unique electronic warfare system, and compatibility with a number of new weapons and targeting systems.

The Peace Onyx III program will be processed as a Foreign Military Sales (FMS) through the US government and follows Peace Onyx I (160 new F-16s in late 1980s to mid-1990s) and Peace Onyx II (80 F-16s in late 1990s). The contract negotiations will begin now and are expected to conclude in July this year with the signing of a long-lead contract with Lockheed-Martin.