Daily Sabah
April 19, 2023

White House notifies Congress on F-16 equipment sale to Türkiye

U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration officially notified Congress Monday about the planned sale to Türkiye of avionics software upgrades for its current fleet of F-16 fighter aircraft.

Valued at $259 million (TL 5.02 billion), the deal will move ahead with the sale of the modernization package for Türkiye’s aircraft, after leaders of U.S. congressional committees gave informal approval.

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If Congress clears it during the formal approval process, the package would be the first major military sale to Türkiye that Congress has approved for years.

Monday’s approval of the software sale will let Türkiye update the avionics of its existing F-16 fleet. The State Department noted that the upgrade would improve the interoperability between Turkish and NATO systems by updating its communications….

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“Türkiye is a longstanding and valued NATO ally,” a State Department spokesperson said in a statement. “The Biden administration supports Türkiye’s efforts to bring the avionics of its F-16 fleet up to standard.”

The Defense Department’s Defense Security Cooperation Agency said the proposed sale “will support the foreign policy and national security objectives of the United States by helping to improve Türkiye’s interoperability with NATO and ensure the safety of flight for Türkiye’s existing F-16 aircraft.”

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“The United States and Türkiye have longstanding and deep defense and security ties, and Türkiye’s continued NATO interoperability remains a critical priority,” the spokesperson added.

The sales package includes equipment and engineering support to upgrade the Link-16 tactical data link system of Türkiye’s existing F-16 jets to the Block Upgrade-2 level.

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The F-16 modernization deal follows Türkiye approving Finland’s accession to the NATO military alliance….

Lockheed Martin Corp. will be the principal contractor on the deal.

The package is separate from the proposed $20 billion sale of 40 new Lockheed Martin F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits Türkiye requested in October 2021.

The smaller package was approved after the administration pushed the lawmakers to approve it to send a “positive signal” to Ankara, one source familiar with the deal told Reuters.

Turkish F-16s of the sort used in Iraq, Libya and Syria. Photo: Turkish Air Force.