The sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye is considered final as the review and objection process in the U.S. Congress ended on Saturday.
U.S. President Joe Biden's administration on Jan. 26 formally notified Congress of its intention to proceed with the sale of 40 Lockheed Martin F-16s and nearly 80 modernization kits to Türkiye.
The move in a prolonged process that tested Washington's ties with Ankara came after Türkiye fully completed ratification of the NATO membership of Sweden.
Following the transfer of the formal notification by the State Department, Congress has 15 days to object to the sale, after which it is considered final.
That period ended Saturday night, and there is no obstacle to the start of the process related to the sale among relevant institutions under the U.S. Arms Export Control Act (AECA).
In the review and objection process, the only objection presented to the Senate was by Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
While Paul's proposal was referred to the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, no action was taken on the proposal there.
"Congress' decision this week to approve Türkiye's acquisition of 40 new and 79 upgraded F-16 aircraft is a great step forward," said U.S. Ambassador to Ankara Jeffry L. Flake about the recent developments.
"Türkiye's F-16 fleet is critical to NATO's strength, ensuring future interoperability among allies," Flake noted.
This period is specified as 15 days for NATO member countries, and 30 days for non-NATO member countries, according to the AECA.
Türkiye made the request to acquire the jets in October 2021. The Biden administration had repeatedly supported the $23 billion sale, but several lawmakers in Congress had tied the sale to Türkiye's approval of Sweden's NATO bid.
President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan eventually also made Sweden's membership contingent on approving the sale of the new planes.
Türkiye first sought to purchase Lockheed Martin's more advanced F-35 fighter jets, but the U.S. removed it from the multinational program to buy and help develop and build the warplane in 2019 after it acquired S-400s from Russia.
Washington argued the air missile defense systems posed a risk to the advanced fighter jet, whereas Ankara insisted they would not be integrated into NATO systems.
Türkiye had ordered about 100 F-35s and its companies were building some 900 parts for the fighter jet.
U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland last month said Washington was open to welcoming Türkiye back into the F-35 fighter jet program if the issue over the S-400 air defense system is resolved.
The prolonged process over F-16s led Türkiye to begin discussions to buy Eurofighter Typhoon jets.
Türkiye announced in November it was in talks with Britain and Spain to buy 40 Eurofighter jets, though Germany has objected to the idea. Ankara has been urging Germany to align with the NATO spirit.
Despite the fact that the U.S. has proceeded with the F-16 sale, Ankara maintains its interest in buying the warplanes built by a consortium of Germany, Britain, Italy and Spain, represented by Airbus, BAE Systems and Leonardo, a Turkish Defense Ministry official said earlier this month.
Keen to upgrade its air force, Türkiye is also developing its own, fifth-generation national combat aircraft, named Kaan.
