IRIA News

The U.S. State Department approved the highly anticipated $23 billion F-16 fighter jet sales for Turkey on January 27, 2024. The move came just hours after the Turkish parliament ratified Sweden’s NATO membership bid.

The Biden administration had conditioned its endorsement of the agreement to supply F-16 warplanes to Turkey if Ankara approved Sweden’s bid to join NATO. According to the agreement, Turkey will get 40 new F-16 jets and upgrade 79 jets from its existing fleet, the State Department said in a news release. The State Department notified Congress of its approval, which will finalize the deal for Ankara.

Approval for F-16s for Turkiye came alongside F-35 jets for Greece

In a strategic move, the U.S. also approved a similar request for a NATO ally and Turkey’s regional rival, Greece. The U.S. State Department approved an $8.6 billion deal for Athens for 40 F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighters and related equipment. Initially, Athens had objected to the sale of F-16 jets to Turkey because of lingering territorial disputes in the energy-abundant Mediterranean area.

Turkiye‘s dated air force stood to gain from new F-16s, especially after its removal from the U.S.-led F-35 joint strike fighter program in 2019 following Erdogan’s procurement of an advanced Russian missile defense system.

The two approvals together signify a major geopolitical move in the region despite the U.S. claiming that “The proposed sale of this equipment and support will not alter the basic military balance in the region.”

The Defense Security Cooperation Agency (DSCA) statement also noted that “This proposed sale will support the foreign policy goals and national security of the United States by improving the air capabilities and interoperability of a NATO Ally that is a force for political and economic stability in Europe.”

Greek Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis welcomed the U.S. approval of up to 40 F-35 fighter jets and said that Greece would also receive significant military aid under the deal at no extra cost. This would include frigates, C-130 transport aircraft, armored tanks and vehicles.

US concerns

Turkey had postponed its approval of Sweden’s bid to join NATO for over a year, largely due to its perception that Sweden has not adequately addressed Turkey’s national security concerns. These concerns encompassed Ankara’s struggle against Kurdish militants and other groups considered security threats.

The delays had caused frustration among the U.S. and other NATO allies, most of whom promptly embraced both Sweden and Finland into the alliance after the Nordic countries abandoned their longstanding military neutrality in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine in February 2022.

Secretary of State Antony Blinken led a diplomatic initiative to Ankara to negotiate the agreement for Sweden’s accession into NATO. During a visit in February 2023, Blinken emphasized to the Turkish leadership that if Ankara opposed Sweden’s accession into the Alliance, the U.S. would not proceed with Turkey’s request to acquire fighter jets.

Almost 20 months after Stockholm’s initial application, Turkey has finally become closer than ever to approving Sweden’s bid to join the NATO alliance after the Turkish parliament ratified Sweden’s NATO membership bid on January 23, 2024. Turkey’s legislative assembly, which is dominated by President Tayyip Erdogan’s ruling alliance, gave a decisive vote of 287-55 in favor of approving Sweden’s application.

Turkey’s changing stance

Following a series of back-and-forth meetings mediated by the NATO leadership, diplomatic engagements, and agreements, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced his support for Sweden’s application to join the NATO military alliance. The announcement came at Vilnius, Lithuania, where the alliance leaders have gathered for the annual NATO Summit.

In return for the approval, Sweden agreed to work closely to address Turkey’s security concerns. NATO said in its joint statement that “Sweden has amended its constitution, changed its laws, significantly expanded its counter-terrorism cooperation against the PKK, and resumed arms exports to Turkiye,” all mentioned in the 2022 Trilateral Memorandum. Both Ankara and Stockholm countries recognized that counter-terrorism cooperation requires long-term commitment, extending beyond Sweden’s accession to NATO.