A

LOT HAS CHANGED in the

Turkish Air Force (Türk Hava

Kuvvetleri, THK) F-16 world

since June 2015. The 4th

Main Jet Base at Mürted,

which was the largest of

the F-16 hubs and was determined to

have taken a role in the coup attempt,

closed and its units redeployed. Notably,

141, 142 and 143 Filo (squadrons) were

effectively disbanded. Both 141 and

143 Filo moved to Merzifon and were

renamed as 151 and 153 Filo, whereas

142 Filo was transferred to Eskişehir

The Turkish Air Force is the third largest operator of the F-16 — it

is also one of five countries to have flown the Fighting Falcon

for more than 30 years. Having initiated a restructuring project

following the events surrounding the coup attempt in June 2015,

Turkey’s ‘Viper’ community has changed dramatically.

REPORT AND PHOTOS Onur Kurc and Tayfun Yaşar

as 113 Filo, a former RF-4E unit. The

Solotürk display team was annexed

from 141 Filo and joined 132 Filo

‘Dagger’ at Konya.

Other changes followed: 152 Filo

moved from Merzifon to İncirlik, and

161 Filo remained at Bandırma, but 162

Filo (also at Bandırma) and 191 Filo at

Balıkesir closed. Untouched was 192 Filo,

also at Balıkesir (the 9th Main Jet Base),

plus 181 and 182 Filo at Diyarbakır.

The coup attempt had a far-reaching

impact. Many pilots were thrown out of

the air force and a training emergency

was declared to plug some pretty

significant gaps. At the same time, a

new law summed retired military pilots

30

TURKISH FALCONS

YEARS

of

74 July 2018 //^ http://www.combataircraft.net

74-79 Turkish F-16s C.indd 74 22/05/2018 15:53