Biden to Move Forward With Sale of F-16 Jets to Turkey After Erdogan Greenlights Sweden’s NATO Bid

A U.S. Air Force B-1B bomber (top) flies in formation with U.S. Air Force F-16 fighter jets over the South Korea Peninsula during a joint air drill in South Korea on Feb. 19, 2023. South Korea Defense Ministry via AP

The United States will move forward with its plan to transfer F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, the White House said on July 11, shortly after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan withdrew his objection to Sweden joining NATO.

“President [Joe] Biden has been clear and unequivocal for months that he supported the transfer of F-16s to Turkey,” U.S. National Security Advisor Jake Sullivan told reporters at a news conference during the NATO summit in the Lithuanian capital of Vilnius.