Biden administration greenlights upgrades for Turkey’s existing fleet of F-16 jets

The State Department has approved the sale of defense articles and services to support upgrading Turkey’s current fleet of F-16 aircraft in a deal worth $259 million, the Pentagon said on Monday.

Turkey had requested to buy equipment and services to support the current fleet of F16 fighter jets, according to a statement from the Pentagon.

Among the deal would be upgrades to Operational Flight Program (OFP) avionics with the Automatic Ground Collision Avoidance System (AGCAS) capability and other hardware modifications to enable integration of the Multifunctional Information Distribution System Block Upgrade II (MIDS BU II).

A State Department official said the Biden administration notified Congress of its approval of the sale on Monday.

“Turkey is a longstanding and valued NATO Ally,” the spokesperson said, speaking on condition of anonymity. “The Biden Administration supports Turkey’s efforts to bring the avionics of its F-16 fleet up to standard,” the official said, adding that this sale would enhance Turkey’s interoperability with NATO by updating communications and also provide upgrades to improve safety measures such as a ground collision avoidance system.