"Green light" for F-16s disturbs Turkish opponents

A new process started after the NATO Summit on F-16s requested by Turkey. After US President Biden's statement 'We must sell F-16s to Turkey', anti-Turkey groups launched a campaign under the name #NoJetsForTurkey (No jets to Turkey).

At the NATO Summit held in Spain, Turkey's attitude towards the membership of Finland and Sweden could start a new era not only between the three countries, but also especially on the Ankara-Washington line, TRT Haber reports.

One of the most important agenda items in the tete-a-tete meeting between President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President Joe Biden in Madrid was the new F-16 warplanes and modernized kits demanded by Turkey.

After the talks, both leaders stated that they would continue the process in a positive way, and US President Biden said, “We should sell F-16s to Turkey. Congress has to approve it, we can do it," he said.

The statements about the aircraft and modernization kits demanded by Turkey were not limited to this. In addition, US Deputy Secretary of Defense Celeste Wallander announced that they support the sale of F-16s to Turkey.

Republican Senator Lindsey Graham, who is perhaps one of the leaders of the group that opposes Ankara on almost every issue, also announced that they will support the sale of the F-16. Making a statement on his social media account, the Senator said, “I support the Biden Administration's decision to approve the sale of the new F-16 to our NATO ally Turkey. "While we have our differences with Turkey, they are a NATO ally and it is in America's national security interest to strengthen their capabilities in a troubled region."

Turkey's opponents took action

Following these developments, anti-Turkey groups took action on social media and started a campaign not to sell F-16s to Turkey.

Among the groups that support the campaign are groups such as the Hellenic American Leadership Council, the Armenian National Committee of America, the International Coordinating Committee for Justice for Cyprus (PSEKA), the California American Hellenic Council, the Hindu American Foundation. In addition, pro- FETO accounts from Turkey and different parts of the world also support the smear campaign.

Within the scope of the campaign launched under the name #NoJetsForTurkey (No jets to Turkey), many tweets were sent in a short time. It was claimed that it would be inconvenient for Turkey to buy new warplanes in the posts where the Twitter addresses of the US decision makers were also tagged.

Although there are many aircraft in Turkey, the average age of the fleets is increasing.

What happened?

After Turkey 's removal from the F-35 program, Ankara focused on an 'intermediate formula' until the National Combat Aircraft entered the inventory, and the purchase of F-16 Block 70 aircraft from the USA came to the fore.

Within the scope of the program, Turkey announced to the USA through official channels that it wanted to purchase 40 F-16 Block 70 kits from the USA and 80 kits to modernize the warplanes in its existing fleets.

The US State Department also sent a letter to the Senate, whose permission is required for the sale, of the opinion that it is "in accordance with the American interests" and emphasized that these planes should be given to Ankara. According to the decision to be made in the Senate, the fate of the planes and kits demanded by Turkey will become clear.