January 27, 2024 10:24 am | Updated 10:55 am IST - WashingtonThe Biden administration has approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkiye following the Turkish government's ratification this week of Sweden's membership in NATO. The State Department notified Congress of its approval of the $23 billion F-16 sale to Turkiye, along with a companion $8.6 billion sale of advanced F-35 fighter jets to Greece, late Friday. The sale to Turkiye includes 40 new F-16s and equipment to modernise 79 of its existing F-16 fleet. NATO ally Turkiye has long sought to upgrade its F-16 fleet and had made its ratification of Sweden's membership contingent on the approval of the sale of the new planes. Sweden's formal accession to NATO now depends on Hungary, which is the last remaining NATO ally not to have approved its membership.

Source: The Hindu January 27, 2024 11:54 UTC