US refuses Turkey permission to use Pakistani pilots for F-16 training

Musafir123

Senator (1k+ posts)
f-16trpk-696x398.jpg


The US has rejected a Turkish proposal to use Pakistani pilots for F-16 training, the Cumhuriyet daily reported on Monday, based on an article written by a pro-government columnist.





According to the article by Mehmet Acet, the government purged 680 of 1,350 pilots in the Turkish Air Forces following a coup attempt on July 15, 2016. In order to compensate for the lack of pilots, the government called on former pilots who opted to work in the private sector after 10 years of service in the air forces to return to the military. But only 50 pilots responded to the call. As a solution, the government inserted an article in a recently issued state of emergency decree which stipulates that pilots, including former pilots, serve 18 years in the air forces before going to the private sector.


“Hence, it is expected that 200 pilots including 100 F-16 pilots who left the air forces before completing 18 years in the military will return to the military,” said Acet in his article published in the Yeni Şafak daily.


Using a general as a source, Acet said in the meantime the Turkish Air Forces asked Pakistan to send three F-16 pilots to train Turkish pilots. Although Pakistan welcomed the Turkish request, the US refused to allow Ankara to go with Pakistani trainers.


According to an F16 purchase agreement between Turkey and the United States, the US must give permission for any third party involvement in the use of the aircraft.


According to Acet, the general used a Turkish idiom in response to Washington’s refusal, saying, “This means you fall down where you are.”

Source: https://www.turkishminute.com/2017/...on-to-use-pakistani-pilots-for-f-16-training/
 

miafridi

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
To solve this problem, Turkey could give temporary or permanent, or honorary nationality to Pakistani Pilots and get them to train their own(Turkish) countrymen then..:)
 

aazad.mubassir

Minister (2k+ posts)
To solve this problem, Turkey could give temporary or permanent, or honorary nationality to Pakistani Pilots and get them to train their own(Turkish) countrymen then..:)

Wondering why don't Turkey send over their Pilots here in Pakistan to get F-16 training. Turkish Air force is already using Pakistani Mashaq planes for training their Pilots though.
 

miafridi

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
Wondering why don't Turkey send over their Pilots here in Pakistan to get F-16 training. Turkish Air force is already using Pakistani Mashaq planes for training their Pilots though.

Pakistan might be bound by the same purchase agreement, and so not allowed to train any third party pilots Using F-16..
 

Wadaich

Prime Minister (20k+ posts)
US is fearful of Pakistani Pilots access to latest F-16 technology: Turkish General

ANKARA: Commenting on the recent US refusal to heed Ankara’s request for F-16 training pilots to help replace airmen dismissed after last year’s military coup attempt and Washington’s move to prevent Pakistan from assisting Turkey, retired Turkish Lt-Gen Erdogan Karakus explained to Sputnik Turkiye what might be the reasons for this decision.
The US has rejected Ankara’s request to send F-16 training pilots to prepare new airmen in the wake of an array of dismissals following after last year’s military coup attempt in the country, saying that it has “no programme regarding training pilots abroad”. The US, however, offered to train Turkish pilots in the US.
“If you send your F-16 pilots to the US, we can train them here,” the US suggested. Turkey, for its part, insisted that its pilots operate from its own bases and in their own geographical conditions, former Lt-Gen Erdogan Karakus commented to Sputnik Turkiye on the US response.
“The US suggestion to send Turkish pilots for training in the US instead of sending its instructors to Turkey could be regarded as a certain message to Turkey, saying: “look, we are not hampering your intentions”. However, in fact, the US is undermining all the Turkish efforts. This is unacceptable behaviour on the part of the US,” he told Sputnik.

He further suggested that this move of the US, which is yet another step in the deteriorating relations between the two countries, could cause further aggravation of their ties. “As you know, our relations with the US are not at their best mostly due to certain discrepancies over the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and Syria’s Democratic Union Party (PYD). Besides, there are certain difficulties caused by Turkey’s intentions to purchase S-400 missile defence systems from Russia. Another very important issue is the unwillingness of the US to extradite US-based Islamic cleric Fethullah Gulen, (widely believed to have masterminded the coup in Turkey),” Erdogan Karakus explained.
Ankara has sent requests for F-16 instructors to some other states. Pakistan was the only country to accept Turkey’s request, but Washington has opposed this move, as any US military equipment purchase, sale, maintenance or training by third countries needs US approval.

Commenting on this decision, Erdogan Karakus suggested that the US might want to prevent Pakistani pilots from getting access to the digital terrain-mapping systems which are installed on the modernised F-16 jets possessed by Turkey. He stressed that the crisis with the pilots might be resolved if dismissed pilots return to military service.
“If you can’t bring instructors from the US or Pakistan, you have to train them yourself. This is the solution. We have trained many pilots for other countries: Jordan, Bahrain, Qatar and Italy. We are able to train them for ourselves,” he said. Erdogan Karakus, however, noted that many countries, especially the US, are dissatisfied with the fact that Turkey has a great number of capable and experienced pilots.
“We have highly qualified instructors and pilots. This is, to a large extent, the reason behind all those games played against the Turkish Air Forces. Just imagine that during military drills in the US, one Turkish pilot is able to shoot down 26 American jets. As a result, the Turkish team is stronger by far,” he told Sputnik. He said Turkish pilots are so talented and professional that many countries feel worried and dissatisfied. However, he assured that Turkey is able to solve its problems by itself.

https://timesofislamabad.com/us-is-...t-f-16-technology-turkish-general/2017/09/05/
 
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