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Türkiye signed a letter of acceptance and offer for the purchase of F-16 fighter jets, State Department Spokesman Matthew Miller said Friday.
Speaking to reporters at a press briefing, Miller said the sale is an “investment in NATO interoperability” and will also back the national security interests of Ankara, Washington and the military bloc.
Türkiye submitted the request to acquire the jets in October 2021.
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.
Earlier this year, U.S. President Joe Biden’s administration finally approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye, ending years of sometimes tense negotiations that marked one of the issues in the bilateral relations between the two NATO allies.
The approval for selling 40 new F-16 Block 70 aircraft and 79 modernization kits to upgrade its remaining F-16s came in shortly after Ankara formally ratified Sweden’s membership in NATO.
The sources of the National Defense Ministry confirmed in the weekly press briefing on Thursday that the procurement process regarding the deal is proceeding according to schedule.
