The presidential administration has urged Congress to approve the sale of F-16s to Turkey

Joe Biden's administration called on the US Congress to approve the sale of F-16 fighter jets and modernization kits to Turkey, Sabah reported.
The presidential administration has written a letter to members of Congress urging them to approve the sale of $20 billion worth of Lockheed Martin F-16 jets and upgrade kits, sources familiar with the letter said.
The administration supports the modernization of Turkey's F-16 fleet, but recognizes that Congress must play a significant role in that regard, the State Department said.
Asked whether the State Department would send the official notification about the planes once Sweden's NATO process is fully formalized, deputy spokesman Vedant Patel would not commit to a timeline.
"President Biden, Secretary Blinken have been very clear about our support for the modernization of Turkey's F-16 fleet, which we see as a key investment in NATO interoperability. But we also recognize that Congress has a key role in looking at arms sales, but I simply will not confirm or pre-empt any proposed defense sales or transfers until Congress has been formally notified of them," Patel said.
He said the US also welcomed the ratification of Sweden's bid for NATO membership by the Turkish parliament, but said the process was not yet over. He added that Washington expects to receive the ratification document of Turkey and Hungary, which are also progressing in the process.
With Ankara clearing the way for Sweden's long-delayed bid for NATO membership, eyes now turn to the US's continued approval of the sale of F-16 fighter jets.
On Jan. 23, Turkey's parliament ratified Sweden's bid for NATO membership, clearing the biggest remaining obstacle to the Western alliance's expansion after a 20-month delay.
The Biden administration has repeatedly backed the deal and promised to proceed with the $20 billion sale.
It has never formally tied the sale of the F-16s to the ratification of the Swedish bid. However, some key members of Congress have said they will not support the sale until Turkey signs off on Sweden joining the alliance.
Turkey's request aims to replace the aging fleet of F-16s in the Air Force Command's inventory, which are scheduled to be decommissioned from 2030.
Ankara had sought to buy Lockheed Martin's more advanced F-35 fighter jets, but the US removed it from a multinational program to buy and help develop and build the fighter jet in 2019 after Turkey acquired C-missile defense systems 400 from Russia.
Frustrated by the lengthy procedure for its request to acquire the F-16, Ankara has opened negotiations to buy the Eurofighter, produced by a consortium including Germany, Spain, Italy and the United Kingdom./BGNES