Turkey Wins Biden Backing for Its F-16 Fighter Jets Upgrades
- Congress asked to back arms sales likely to top $500 million
- U.S.-Turkey relations have thawed amid the war in Ukraine
A U.S. Air Force F-16 Fighting Falcon fighter jet.
Photographer: SeongJoon Cho/BloombergThis article is for subscribers only.
The Biden administration has asked Congress to approve the sale of weapons and equipment upgrades to Turkey’s fleet of American-made F-16 fighter jets, a sign of thawing relations between the NATO allies as the Russian war in Ukraine drags on.
The informal reviews submitted to Congress include the proposed sale of Sidewinder missiles, Amraam missiles and software and hardware updates to F-16 cockpits already in Turkey, according to people familiar with the matter. Turkey’s arms purchase is expected to exceed $500 million, according to one of the people, who asked not to be identified in advance of a formal announcement.