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.
A larger agreement, NATO member Türkiye's request to buy billions of dollars worth of F-16s, remains uncertain amid ongoing opposition in Congress.
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 and also provide upgrades to enhance safety measures such as a ground collision avoidance system.
It called it an "interoperability and basic safety-of-flight issue," for Türkiye and its allies.
"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."
"The proposed sale will improve Türkiye's capability to meet current and future threats and assist in defending its homeland and U.S. personnel stationed there. The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region," it added.
The Defense and Security Cooperation Agency has the job of notifying Congress about the U.S.' official military sales.
Congress has the right to object to the State Department's determination within 15 business days for sales approvals granted to NATO members, including Türkiye, a member of the alliance for over 70 years.
"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.
Link-16 is a military radio network, also known as a tactical data link (TDL), used by NATO and allied countries. It shares tactical information between aircraft, helicopters, unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs), ships and ground forces.
The F-16 modernization deal follows Türkiye approving Finland's accession to the NATO military alliance and signs of easing tensions between Türkiye and neighbor Greece.
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
The approval does not mean the bigger sale will receive a green light from Congress.
The F-16 jets and modernization kit request came instead of a refund for the $1.4 billion payment Türkiye had made for the next-generation F-35 fighter jets.
The payment was issued before being removed from the multinational program developing the aircraft over Ankara’s decision in 2017 to acquire Russian-made S-400 air missile defense systems.
Some members of the U.S. Congress have voiced objections to the F-16 deal and lastly tied its approval to Türkiye’s ratification of the NATO membership of Sweden and Finland.
Türkiye and Hungary approved Finland's accession, but Ankara is still waiting for Sweden to abide by the terms of the deal the countries reached back in the summer.
Türkiye earlier said the United States had "endless" demands relating to the sale of F-16s and that Washington's behavior wasn't fair.
It has rejected any preconditions to buy F-16s, saying the issue could be overcome if the Biden administration maintains a decisive stance.