ANKARA, June 13. /TASS/. Turkey has signed an agreement with the United States to purchase F-16 fighter jets, a source in the republic's Defense Ministry confirmed.

"Contracts for F-16 procurement from the US have been signed, and work on details continues between delegations," the TRT TV channel reported.

On June 6, the US State Department reported that Turkish authorities signed the Letter of Acceptance (LOA) sent to them by the US side regarding the purchase of new F-16 fighters and Block-70/72 modification and modernization kits for the F-16s the republic already has. The US called this a major step forward in getting a deal done. On June 6, US Ambassador to Turkey Jeff Flake also announced that the Ankara fighter jet purchase deal was moving forward, but he did not give any details.

Turkey plans to purchase a total of 40 F-16 Block-70/72 fighters in single-seat (F-16C) and two-seat (F-16D) configurations, as well as 79 sets of equipment needed to modernize and extend the service life of Turkey's F-16C/D Block-40/50+ aircraft. This includes spare parts, necessary service equipment, training and technical support programs and a full complex of air-to-air and air-to-surface weapons.