The Turkish Air Drive’s F-4 Phantom plane had been engaged within the Poggio Dart 23 workouts on the Istrana Air Base in Italy on December 12, 2023.
Poggio Dart 23 showcased the airpower capabilities of the U.S., Italian and Turkish Air Drive, throughout a weeklong train.
Regardless of their appreciable age, Turkey nonetheless maintains the legendary Phantoms from the Vietnam Conflict period inside its arsenal.
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In line with The Drive, within the late Nineties, the Turkish Air Drive initiated vital upgrades to a few of its Phantoms, signing a $632 million settlement with Israel Aerospace Industries (IAI). Out of practically 200 F-4E plane in its fleet, 54 had been modernized to the Terminator 2020 configuration. The challenge, named F-4E-2020, aimed to maintain the plane flying at the very least till this 12 months. Roughly half of the 54 had been extensively modified by IAI in Israel with new avionics techniques, initially meant for the nation’s “Kurnass” Phantom program earlier than its cancellation. The remaining plane underwent upgrades in Turkey utilizing kits offered by Israel.
The rely of energetic F-4s varies throughout totally different estimates, however most analysts recommend that the variety of operational plane ranges from 30 to 40. Presently, just one Turkish squadron of F-4 stays—the 111 Filo ‘Panterler’, stationed on the Eskisehir Air Base.
