Turkey’s NATO ratification allows F-16 sale, Canadian drone exports
QAMISHLI, Syria (North Press) – Following Turkey’s ratification of Sweden’s NATO membership, the U.S. administration approved the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey, while Canada agreed to resume Canadian exports of drone parts to Turkey.
Late on Friday, the U.S. State Department informed Congress of its approval for the $23 billion sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
On Jan.23, After 20 months of delays, the Turkish parliament voted to approve Sweden’s NATO membership bid, leaving Hungary as the sole ally yet to ratify it.
Turkey needs to submit the instrument of ratification, the final document, to the U.S. State Department archives as per NATO rules in order to complete its ratification of Sweden.
The sale to Turkey comprises the delivery of 40 state-of-the-art F-16s, along with the necessary equipment to enhance and modernize its existing fleet of 79 F-16 aircraft.
In related context, Canada and Turkey have agreed to restart Canadian exports of drone parts in exchange for Turkey providing more information on how and where the parts will be used.
Canada stopped selling drone technology to Turkey in 2020 because it found that the optical equipment on Turkish-made drones was used by Azerbaijan in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict against Armenian forces.
Under the agreement, Turkey will inform Canada about the end-users of Canadian-made equipment, especially if it is re-exported to non-NATO countries.
It is worth mentioning that Turkey has been employing drones to target vital infrastructure facilities, civilian projects, as well as security forces in Northeast Syria.