Turkey a Step Closer to Getting Upgraded F-16 Jets

Turkey appears to be a step closer to getting the upgraded US F-16, the Block 70 fighter jets following a relevant post published on social platform X (formerly Twitter) by the US Ambassador to the country Jeff Blake.

The US diplomat remarked in his post that “today marked an important step forward” referring to Turkey’s purchase of Lockheed Martin’s latest generation fighter jet.

“Today marks an important step forward in Türkiye’s purchase of the latest-generation F-16 Block 70 fighter jets and upgrades to its existing fleet of F-16s. This is good for U.S. national security, Turkish national security, and NATO interoperability,” the post read.

The development was affirmed by another post on X by the US State Department’s Bureau of Political-Military Affairs which wrote: “U.S. proud to announce today a major step forward in Türkiye’s purchase of new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets – the most advanced F-16 ever made, available only to closest Allies and partners. Just the latest example of U.S. enduring commitment to security partnership with Türkiye.”

The sale of the upgraded version of the F-16 jets to Turkey had been consistently thwarted by Democratic Senator Menendez (D-N.J.), who served on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and opposed the sale on the grounds of Turkish aggression toward its neighbors.

Following his sidelining after and indictment on federal corruption charges, the path for the sale of the fighters to Turkey opened.