Ankara expects Washington to go on with the sale of the F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye as it is important for the deterrence of NATO, Vice President Fuat Oktay said Monday.
"The importance of defense cooperation between Türkiye and the U.S. is obvious. Our request for F-16 procurement and modernization is an opportunity to further strengthen our defense relations," Oktay noted.
"Meeting our demand as soon as possible is critical not only for Türkiye, but also for NATO's deterrence and defense capabilities," the vice president said during the video message addressing the Turkish-American Business World Awards Ceremony.
Oktay said Türkiye is pleased with the support of the U.S. administration toward the request, adding: "We expect the Congress to play a positive role in this process."
Türkiye hailed the recent U.S. move to exclude certain provisions in the final text of the U.S. defense budget on the sale of F-16s to Ankara. Amendments introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives, making sales of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye contingent on a series of conditions were removed in the final defense spending bill.
Ankara requested F-16s and modernization kits in October 2021. The $6-billion deal would include the sale of 40 jets, as well as modernization kits for 79 warplanes that the Turkish Air Force already has in its inventory.
Türkiye’s request for F-16s came after the country unilaterally expelled from the multinational program to develop fifth-generation F-35 stealth fighters of Lockheed Martin, the same company developing the F-16s.
The country initially joined the U.S.-led program with a $1.4 billion (TL 24.2 billion) investment but was removed by Washington in 2019 after it acquired S-400 missile defense systems from Russia. Ankara had ordered over 100 F-35 jets while its defense industry has been a prominent player in the development and manufacturing of fighter jets.
Washington argues that the S-400 air missile systems acquired by Türkiye could be used by Russia to covertly obtain classified details on the F-35 jets and that they are incompatible with NATO systems. Türkiye, which purchased the missile system after initially requesting Patriots from the U.S.– which it did not get – however, insists that the S-400 would not be integrated into NATO systems and would not pose a threat to the alliance.
