“The United States supports the modernization of Turkey’s fighter fleet because it contributes to NATO security,” said Assistant Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander.
The way for the modernization of the F-16 is said to have been opened by the lifting of Turkey’s veto on the accession of Finland and Sweden to NATO.
Hours after the agreement reached between Ankara and the Alliance for the two Nordic countries, the US Assistant Secretary of Defense publicly stated that “the United States fully supports the plans to modernize Turkey’s F-16 fleet.”
Celeste Wallander added that “these plans are in the works and should be implemented through the procurement process, but the United States supports the modernization of Turkey’s fighter fleet, because it contributes to NATO security. “Turkey’s strong defense capabilities contribute to a strong NATO defense.”
According to a Bloomberg report, Biden and Erdogan will discuss the “sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey” and the armaments program as a whole within the framework of the NATO alliance.
In any case, it is noted that both the modernization of the existing and the sale of new F-16s in Turkey will have to – in order to be implemented – go through the US Congress and the relevant congressional committees, including the Commission. The Senate Foreign Relations Committee is headed by Senator Robert Menendez.
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