AV-8 Turkey.

This is coolbert:

The Sultan [Erdogan] wants his aircraft carriers with warplanes and he wants them NOW!

And he is going to get them too! Power projection!

At bargain basement prices it would seem.

From the Internet web site The Drive and the article by Tyler Rogoway.

"Turkey Is Interested in Buying Surplus USMC AV-8B Harriers, Others Likely To Follow"

 "With F-35B production ramping up, the AV-8 Harrier is entering into the twilight of its service with the United States Marine Corps. By most accounts, America's Harrier fleet has quite a bit of life left in it, especially considering Pentagon picked up the UK's entire fleet of 74 Harriers, many of which were very young, and all the spare parts that went with them, for cost of roughly 1.35 F-35Bs [one and one/third] at today's prices, or a paltry $177M."

Seventy-four Harriers as bought from the British. That inventory currently as Harrier serving with the USMC is at this very moment is exactly how many?

See previous blog entries the Turk already having one aircraft carrier in the works and interested in buying a second:

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/11/hms-ocean.html

http://militaryanalysis.blogspot.com/2017/08/milgem.html

Contrary to what I had originally believed the Turk able to operate an aircraft carrier in the Black Sea.

As to the purchase and use of the Harrier [now less than an adequate combat warplane?] the idea is good to go with a proven winner now rather than wait for a better winner tomorrow? That is what this is?

coolbert.