A serious shortage of Turkey s air force pilots, aggravated by a mass purge of military aviators by the government on fabricated charges in 2016, continues to hamper the air force s ability to operate F-16 and F-4 fighter jets. This acute problem
The F-16 "Fighting Falcon" (known as "Viper" to its operators) is a single-engine multirole fighter. It was initially designed and produced by General Dynamics up until 1993 when the company sold the Fort Worth production line to Lockheed Martin. More than 4,500 F-16s have been produced and more than 2,800 aircraft remain in operation with 25 nations, making the type among the most prolific fighter families in the post-World War II period.