The decision to seek NATO membership after decades on the periphery required a dramatic shift for the Swedes and Finns.
After removal from the US F-35 programme, Turkiye requested 40 new F-16s and 79 upgrade kits for existing warplanes in 2021.
Given the long-standing tension between Greece and Turkiye, a separate sale of F-35s to Athens might ease the F-16 sale to Turkiye. According to the aides, the sale details of the F-35 have already been submitted to the relevant congressional committees for an informal review.
Last summer, both the Defence Department and President Biden stated that selling F-16s to Turkiye was in the best interests of the United States and had their support. Last month, Congress removed the conditions attached to the sale from the 2023 National Defence Authorisation Act (NDAA) in exchange for a provision stating that no NATO member should conduct "unauthorised territorial flights" over another member's airspace.
