Turkey Re-Enters NATO's Good Books: US Approves Long-Delayed $23B F-16 Fighter Jets Sale

Turkey has been welcomed back into NATO’s good graces, and the U.S. has given the green light for a long-delayed $23 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets.

What Happened: The decision to allow Sweden into NATO in late January, which required unanimous approval by all 31 members of the alliance, appears to have been a turning point. This was followed by the U.S. approving the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, a deal that had been on hold since 2021, reported CNBC.

Victoria Nuland, from the State Department, announced that Turkey would immediately receive modernization kits for their F-16s.

She also expressed the U.S.’s willingness to reinstate Turkey into the F-35 program, NATO’s most advanced fighter jet, once the issue of Turkey’s Russian weapons system purchases was resolved.

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Despite the U.S. lawmakers’ calls for stricter accountability, Turkey’s swift reintegration into NATO has raised eyebrows. Sen. Ben Cardin (D-Md.), chair of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, made it clear that the decision to approve Turkey’s F-16 purchase was not taken lightly.

He said, "My approval of Turkey's request to purchase F-16 aircraft has been contingent on Turkish approval of Sweden's NATO membership. But make no mistake: This was not a decision I came to lightly,"

Despite the U.S. and Turkey still clashing in several sensitive areas, including Ankara’s purchase of the Russian S-400 missile defense system and its military campaigns against Kurdish militias in Syria, Turkey’s strategic value to NATO cannot be overlooked.

Hakan Akbas, a senior advisor at the Albright Stonebridge Group, emphasized that Turkey’s geostrategic position and its role in regional security give it considerable leverage in its dealings with other NATO members.

Why It Matters: This sudden change in Turkey’s position comes after the Turkish parliament ratified Sweden’s NATO membership bid, a move that could potentially strengthen the Western military alliance against Russia. The Swedish application for NATO membership was initially made in 2022, in response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.

U.S. Ambassador to Turkey, Jeff Flake, had also indicated that the final approval for Sweden’s NATO membership was imminent, which would trigger the U.S. Congress’ endorsement of a substantial F-16 fighter jet sale to Turkey. With Turkey’s parliament having ratified Sweden’s NATO membership bid, a significant obstacle to expanding the Western military alliance was cleared after a 20-month delay.

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