Turkey was barred by the Trump administration from the F-35 program of which it was a partner for acquiring and commissioning Russian S-400 “Triumph” air defense systems, and asked the United States to 40 F-16 to deliver fighter-bombers “Viper”. [soit la dernière version de l’appareil développé par Lockheed-Martin] as well as 80 kits to bring old devices of this type to this new standard.
In support of this request, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stated that Ankara would demand from Washington the return of the sums invested in the F-35 program at the time of his expulsion. [soit 1,4 milliard de dollars]. In addition, Turkey underlined the importance of its place within NATO, as its geographic location gives it control of access to the Black Sea.
However, and even if the Biden administration is rather well-disposed towards Ankara [la vente de F-16 à la Turquie servirait les intérêts des États-Unis et contrerait l’influence russe, selon une responsable du département d’État, nldr]Congress is far more reluctant, particularly given Turkey’s involvement in several conflicts [Syrie, Libye, Haut-Karabakh, Irak] and Ankara’s ambitions in the eastern Mediterranean… and in particular its goals in the exclusive economic zones of Greece and Cyprus.
However, the candidacy of Sweden and Finland for NATO has given Turkey an additional leverage…Considering that these two Nordic countries are showing leniency towards Kurdish movements, some of which are like the PKK [Parti des travailleurs du Kurdistan], are considered terrorists, Ankara is currently blocking their membership in the alliance. Or at least it has still not been ratified by the Turkish parliament.
Because during the NATO summit in Madrid in June 2022, Turkey, Sweden and Finland had signed an agreement to iron out their differences … thereby overcoming Ankara’s objections to Stockholm and Helsinki’s membership. Did the Turkish side sell their signature in exchange for assurances of receiving F-16 “Vipers” from the US? An official in the American administration affirms that this was not the case… Really? Because after an interview with his Turkish counterpart, President Biden assured that he would do everything necessary to “release” these files. “I need congressional approval to do this and I think I can get it,” he said.
Just a few weeks later, during the review of the State Defense Authorization Act [NDAA, c’est à dire la loi de financement de la défense américaine], the House of Representatives passed legislation aimed at barring Turkey from procuring F-16Vs, highlighting Ankara’s “belligerent” stance on Athens and raising human rights concerns. This in no way deterred a Turkish delegation from traveling to Washington to discuss Lockheed-Martin’s proposed aircraft purchase.
Since then, Sweden and Finland are still waiting in front of the NATO door, and Turkey has still not ratified its membership. [comme, du reste, la Hongrie]. And restrictions on F-16V sales to Ankara disappeared from the final version of the NDAA after it was reviewed by the US Senate.
And what should actually have nothing to do with Sweden and Finland joining NATO now has one, according to information from the Wall Street Journal.
In fact, according to the American business daily, the Biden administration intends to ask Congress to authorize the sale of 40 F-16 Vipers, 79 modernization kits for existing aircraft, 900 air missiles and 800 bombs to Turkey. At the same time, she intends to do the same to deliver 30 F-35As to Greece. “It would be one of the biggest arms sales in recent years,” commented an official quoted by the Wall Street Journal. It would actually be about 20 billion dollars.
The Biden administration believes the prospect of this sale will embolden Turkey to overturn its recent objections to the candidatures of Sweden and Finland, The Wall Street Journal summarizes.
And this one dares to predict the opinion of the Defense Security Cooperation Agency [DSCA], responsible for American arms sales, will be released at the time of next week’s visit to Washington by Turkey’s chief diplomat, Mevlut Cavusoglu. And if the publication coincided with that about the sale of 30 F-35A to Greece, according to the newspaper’s sources, it would be a “coincidence”. So Maus a “lucky” coincidence… as he could “smother the protests of Athens” against the offer to Turkey.
Once the notice has been published and transmitted, Congress has thirty days to object to this possible sale of F-16s to Ankara. And the game is unlikely to be played in advance… Some of the most prominent MPs have already warned they would oppose it. Like Bob Menendez, the President [démocrate] of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.
In any case, and wanting to end this affair quickly, Turkey would have announced that it is willing to have the F-16 “Viper” assembled by Turkish Aerospace Industries [TAI]according to information from Defense Turk.
As a reminder, the F-16 Viper is equipped with Link 16, an active antenna radar [AESA] APG-83 SABR, Advanced Mission Computer, center pedestal display [affichage de suivi de terrain] and improved connectivity. Greece must have 85 copies.