Turkey may buy Russian fighters Su-35 instead of American F-16 Fighting Falcon, RIA Novosti reported citing the head of defense industry of the country Ismail Demir.

This is possible if the deal with Washington on the F-16 Fighting Falcon fighters fails.

One of the options could be the Su-35, Demir said.

Turkey is seeking 40 F-16 Block 70 fighters and 80 Block 70 kits to upgrade the aircraft in service with its air force. Ankara announced its desire to buy F-16s after it was excluded from the U.S. F-35 fifth-generation fighter-bomber program due to the purchase of Russian S-400 surface-to-air missile systems.