As it presses for F-35 jets, Turkey prioritizes air defense for NATO’s 5% spending target
As Turkey prioritizes boosting its air defense system to meet NATO’s new spending target, the president has revived Ankara’s push to buy fighter jets.
ANKARA — Turkey will prioritize boosting its air defense capabilities under NATO’s newly agreed 5% spending target, a Defense Ministry official said Thursday, as Ankara presses its allies for Eurofighter and F-35 sales.
What happened: “As a priority, we plan to invest in our air defense system and expand a layered air defense network across the entire country,” a high-level Turkish Defense Ministry official told reporters speaking on condition of customary anonymity.
Turkey is currently developing an integrated air defense system, dubbed the “Steel Dome,” which is expected to be fully operational by the 2030s.
The official added that Turkey, NATO's second-largest standing army, was already fulfilling the previous 2% defense spending target.
