Turkish Air Force

The Turkish Air Force has increased the number of warplanes patrolling the Turkish-Syrian border after the downing of a Russian jet fighter by a Turkish F-16 on Nov. 24, while Moscow fortified its military presence in Syria with additional missiles. 

The Turkish Air Force has increased the number of warplanes patrolling the Turkish-Syrian border to 18 after the downing of a Russian jetfighter by a Turkish F-16 on Nov. 24 triggered unprecedented tension between Ankara and Moscow.   

Turkish and American presidents, Recep Tayyip Erdo?an and Barack Obama, discussed the Turkish Air Forces' downing of a Russian jetfighter during a phone conversation late Nov. 24 and agreed on the need to de-escalate tension between Ankara and Moscow. 

A number of Greeks took to social media following Turkey’s downing of the Su-24 Russian jet, pondering hypothetical questions as to what would happen if Greece had shot down a Turkish plane for doing just what the Russian jet had done. After all, the Turkish air force isn’t a stickler for detail when it comes to violating Greek airspace.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has said that his country exercised its "international right and national duty" by downing a Russian warplane which the authorities in Ankara said had violated the Turkish airspace.

Turkey has the right to take "all kinds of measures" against border violations, Davutoglu said on Tuesday, according to Anadolu Agency.

Turkish security forces have refuted claims by Russian Air Force Commander Viktor Bondarev that a Russian aircraft had violated Turkey's airspace on Oct. 3 for a short while, state-run Anadolu Agency has reported. 

The U.S. State Department has approved the sale of precision bomb kits valued at $70 million to Turkey, the Pentagon said on Oct. 29. 

Lawmakers have 15 days to block the sale, although such action is rare. Once it has cleared that hurdle, Turkey and the U.S. government can negotiate the actual sale. 

Turkish Air Force jets have shot down an unidentified drone in the country's air space near the border with Syria on Friday, Turkey's General Staff has announced.

Turkish jets have shot down an "aerial vehicle" near the Syrian border, the Turkish military said in a written statement on Oct. 16.

The target was an unmanned aerial vehicle and shot down in Turkish airspace before falling on the Turkish soil, according to military sources.

U.S. Air Forces Central Command has started deploying search and rescue helicopters and airmen at Turkey?s southeastern Diyarbak?r Air Base in order to help with recovery operations in neighboring Iraq and Syria, it has announced.