ANKARA (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 13th April, 2022) Turkish Defense Minister Hulusi Akar said on Wednesday that the US State Department's letter to the Congress regarding the delivery of F-16 fighters is positive, but Ankara remains cautious.
The US State Department sent a letter to the US Congress last week, stressing that the proposed sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would be beneficial for both US and NATO security interests. In October, Turkey made an official request to the US for the purchase of 40 F-16 fighters and 80 modernization kits to upgrade its existing fleet.
"The F-16s we have are in need of modernization. The process at the US Department of Defense is ongoing with the US Department of State. Although there are some positive elements in the letter in question, it is necessary to be cautious. This is a long process, we hope that it will lead to a positive result," Akar told reporters.
In 2019, the United States suspended Turkey's participation in its F-35 program over Ankara's purchase of the Russian S-400 air defense system and later completely removed it from the project. Despite harsh backlash from the US and NATO over the purchase, Turkey has insisted that it will continue to use the S-400s. The seven remaining partners in the F-35 project are the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, Australia, Denmark, Canada and Norway.
