Seven prominent organizations in the United States have written to the US Congress this week to express their alarm and concern that the Department of State is actively considering a Turkish request to purchase forty F-16 fighter jets and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing fleet of military aircraft.
It follows the letter sent by the State Department to the US Congress in March according to which the potential sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey would serve US national security interests and NATO’s long-term unity, particularly in the wake of Russia’s invasion of Ukraine.
Turkey made a request in October to the US to buy forty Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighters and nearly eighty modernization kits for its existing warplanes.
In separate letters to the chairmen and ranking members of the Foreign Affairs and Armed Services committees of the House and Senate, the Hellenic American Leadership Council, PSEKA-International Coordinating Committee-Justice for Cyprus, American Friends of Kurdistan, American Jewish Committee, Armenian National Committee of America, In Defense of Christians, and Middle East Forum voiced their clear objections to the sale.
Granting F-16s to Turkey “would be reckless”
“Turkey is recklessly risking war within NATO. To grant them new and upgraded F-16s would be equally reckless. Any American arms sales to Ankara must at a minimum be restricted to prevent their use in a way that risks conflict with Greece,” Endy D. Zemenides, executive director of the Hellenic American Leadership Council, said.