Biden to ask Congress to sign off on F-16 sale to Türkiye next week: Report

By Michael Hernandez

WASHINGTON (AA) - The Biden administration is preparing to ask Congress to sign off on a $20 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye in tandem with sales of F-35 fighters to Greece, according to a report published on Friday.

The sale "is larger than expected" and includes 40 F-16 fighters and modernization kits for 79 of the warplanes already in Ankara's possession, the Wall Street Journal newspaper reported, citing anonymous officials familiar with the matter.

Ankara requested the F-16s and modernization kits in October 2021 in what was previously estimated to cost $6 billion.

Congressional notification of the deal is expected to take place next week when Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu pays a visit to Washington. In addition to the warplanes and updated equipment, the agreement is slated to include 900 air-to-air missiles and 800 bombs, the Journal reported.

It added that the administration will not issue the sign-off on the package without Türkiye first agreeing to Finland and Sweden's NATO ascension. The administration will also request that Congress approve the sale to Athens of 30 F-35 Joint Strike Fighter jets, which Greece originally requested in June.

The State Department and White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

The Congressional notification of the sales will kick off a 30-day window for lawmakers to raise objections. If Congress seeks to block either of the sales, it will have to pass what is known as a joint resolution. Lawmakers have up until the time of delivery of the weapons to do so, but Congress has never succeeded in passing such a resolution, according to the Congressional Research Service.

It is unclear if Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez will oppose the sale, as he previously threatened to do.