In October 2021, Turkey told the US it wanted to buy 40 new F-16 Block 70 fighter jets and upgrade kits for the 79 aircraft already in service, a request Washington never responded to officially.
Under US law, once Congress receives a notification from the government, it has 15 days to approve or block the sale for NATO member states and 30 days for non-member states.
In April 2021, the United States excluded Turkey from the F-35 program after Ankara purchased Russia's S-400 air defense systems. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said later that year that Turkey had received a US offer to buy F-16 jets instead, one generation behind the F-35s. The US Congress has been debating whether to include restrictions on the sale of jets in its annual defense spending bill for fiscal 2023, while the US State Department has been trying to convince lawmakers that the deal was aligned with Washington's interests.