The coup in Turkey last year has thinned the ranks of its F-16 pilots and Turkey had wanted to recruit instructors from Pakistan to train more pilots. However, the move has been blocked by the Pentagon.
Photo: SAC Helen Farrer RAF Mobile News Team/MOD [OGL], via Wikimedia Commons
Ankara needs Washington’s permission for training with a third country as stipulated in the contract when the F-16 was sold to Turkey.
Turkey then requested to have American pilots to train in the country but the Pentagon replied that Turkey should send its trainees to United States instead.