Turkiye has scaled back its planned $23 billion purchase of F-16 fighter jets from the United States, eliminating the acquisition of 79 modernization kits for its current fleet, Defense Minister Yasar Guler announced on Tuesday night.

Axar.az reports that, citing Reuters, earlier this year, NATO member Turkiye reached a deal with the United States to acquire 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits for its existing fleet, following a lengthy negotiation process.

"An initial payment of $1.4 billion has been made for the purchase of F-16 Block-70 aircraft. With this, we will buy 40 F-16 Block-70 Vipers, and we had planned to purchase 79 modernization kits," Defense Minister Yasar Guler said during a parliamentary hearing.

"However, we decided to forgo the 79 modernization kits because our Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) facilities are capable of performing the upgrades themselves," he explained.

The total cost of purchasing the 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16 jets, along with ammunition, will amount to about $7 billion, Guler added.