Mr. İsmail DEMİR, Save Us From This Disgrace
I have consistently opposed the sale of F-16s to Turkey and the sale of weapons, equipment and kits necessary to modernize existing F-16 aircraft. Turkey's increasingly aggressive rhetoric towards Greece, a reliable democratic NATO ally, and "Despite his aggression, President Biden's support for the sale of the F-16 remains deeply disturbing. I will continue to work to take all necessary measures to prevent F-16 warplanes or other American-made weapons from falling into Erdogan's hands.
A week or so ago, on July 11, 2022, “Is America Indexed F-16 Sales Into the 2023 Election?” I wrote an article entitled. Here, I mentioned the letter sent by 35 members of Congress to President Biden on July 1 to prevent Turkey's supply of F-16s. In the letter, in summary, Biden was asked:
“As your administration seeks to sell new F-16s and modernization kits to Turkey, please know that as Members of Congress we will take every precaution given to us to prevent this from progressing. We appreciate your interest in these concerns and look forward to your timely response.”
You can reach the relevant letter and the details of the article from the link below.
Before we know of an official statement on what Biden will do with it, the US House of Representatives approved the defense budget, with a draft amendment brought against Turkey.
House of Representatives Approves Defense Budget:
The U.S. House of Representatives approved the defense budget proposed by President Biden's administration for 2023 (October 1, 2022 - September 30, 2023). At the same time, the increase in the defense budget was interpreted as a step that would relieve the President's hand.
During the budget vote, some amendments were also adopted. The amendment proposal submitted to the Congress under the leadership of Pappas, who represented New Hampshire in the American Congress, aimed to prevent the Biden Administration from selling F-16s to Turkey. Indeed, Congress accepted this amendment proposal at its session on July 14, 2022. Thus, the lobbies that did not want the sale of warplanes to Turkey achieved their goals in the House of Representatives.
Draft Proposal Banning F-16 Sales Adopted by Congress:
"The adoption of this amendment sends a strong message to Turkey and the international community that the United States will not allow Erdogan's government to escape accountability for violating US laws and standards of the NATO alliance," Pappas said after the proposal was passed. sends,”
Pappas continues; "I have consistently opposed the sale of F-16s to Turkey and the sale of weapons, equipment and kits necessary to modernize existing F-16 aircraft. Turkey's increasingly aggressive rhetoric towards Greece, a reliable democratic NATO ally, and "Despite his aggression, President Biden's support for the sale of the F-16 remains deeply disturbing. I will continue to work to take all necessary measures to prevent F-16 warplanes or other American-made weapons from falling into Erdogan's hands."
The points that Pappas highlighted in this speech:
- President Erdogan and his Management Style,
- Sale/modernization of F-16 warplanes,
- Backing Greece's Claims.
Indirect Congressional Support for Allegations of Greek Airspace Violation:
In particular, Pappas' bringing "unauthorized territorial overflights", based on so-called Greek claims, to the agenda has revealed a new situation in terms of traditional American policy towards the Aegean. The USA, which is indifferent to Greece, which wants the presence of American soldiers in the non-military Aegean Islands and the inclusion of such islands in NATO exercises; With this decision taken in the Congress, it has shown that it is heading for a policy change in favor of Greece. This change is important in that it confronts Turkey with a de facto situation that aims to disrupt the Lausanne balance in the Aegean in favor of Greece, which is more important for Turkey than the sale of the F-16. Although there is no new problem in terms of international law at the moment, it is a significant development that an approach that binds the American administrations for the future and supports the groundless thesis of Greece's airspace is 10 miles, by the Congress.
There have always been attempts to prevent arms sales to a country by passing separate bills as part of Congress' normal legislative activities. For example, in 2019, joint bills were adopted in both the Senate and the House of Representatives to prevent arms sales to Saudi Arabia, Jordan and the United Arab Emirates, but these bills were vetoed by the then US President, Republican Donald Trump.
Time will tell if a similar situation can hold true for Democrat President Biden. In my personal opinion, a reason for the President to stall Turkey this year was presented to the President on a gold platter by the House of Representatives. The President will most likely not approve the sale of the F-16 to Turkey this year, and will carry the process to the 2024 budget talks.
The American Budget is Shaped in the Hands of the Legislature:
In the American budget process, the legislature has been given a wider authority, unlike other countries. The most important characteristic feature of the US budget process is that the decisive body for the finalization of the budget is the Congress rather than the President. The US federal budget is a budget approved by both houses, in which many committees took part in the Congress during the creation phase and dozens of discussions and hundreds of changes were made on the President's budget request. Regarding the overall budget, the executive only sets general policy preferences, but is not the absolute determinant.
Under American law, the US government also requires that defense equipment supplied to any country be used in accordance with agreements or licensing. For this, the buyer countries must agree to the following conditions before the sale can be implemented:
- Equipment is not retransferred to third parties before obtaining written approval from the U.S. government.
- The equipment is not disposed of or used for any purpose other than for the purpose of purchase without written approval from the U.S. government.
- Maintaining the security of any equipment to the same degree as that provided by the US government.
Now, will the so-called “Greek Airspace Violations not be made by Turkey” clause be added to this?
The American System Continues to Bring Problems to Turkey:
In recent years, an issue related to Turkey has been brought up in the American Defense Budget negotiations and approval process, and Turkey is confronted with new conditions. For example, the American National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) was submitted to President Joe Biden's approval after it was approved by the House of Representatives on December 7, 2021, and by the Senate on December 15. During this period, the bill to closely monitor Turkey's Armed Unmanned Aerial Vehicle (SİHA) program, which was presented to the NDAA by Senator and Senate Foreign Relations Committee Chairman Bob Menendez, was also accepted at that time.
In the short term, it has become a necessity for Turkey to overcome the F-16 modernization problem. Turkey is at the crossroads. It will either raise its F-16s to the level of F-16 Block 70 with American support, or it will be roasted with its own oil and put into the F-16 Özgür modernization process, and then additional modernizations such as F-16 Özgür I and II fighter aircraft.
It is now very obvious that it will not be with America. The strongest negative signal was given by the American Congress as of July 14, 2022.
Couldn't Turkey Modernize F-16s by Itself?
It can. Turkey has the technical infrastructure to modernize F-16 aircraft with its own means. The F-16 Free program, as a nearly 10-year project, had been launched before in these planes to enable the Turkish Air Force to achieve operational independence. Now I think it's time to accelerate this project and start the "national modernization program" for all F-16s. If not now, when will it be?
This issue was previously asked to İsmail Demir, the President of the Defense Industry, in a television program. Emphasizing that Turkey has no problem in raising its entire F-16 fleet to Block 70/72 level with national means, Demir noted that even if the USA says 'yes' to modernization, this process may take years to complete. Demir said:
“The genie is out of the bottle on the F-16 modernization. We are in a position to make all applications in this regard. Production, installation, electronic modernization of kits on the aircraft, AESA radar, etc. we can. There are planes where we tried the system, now we have 'liberated' F-16s. "We will overcome even the Viper configuration, by God's grace."
Mr. Demir, as you said, get over the F-16V modernization as soon as possible, don't make us disgrace as the Turkish Nation at the American gate any more.
Come on please!
References:
Kılıçparlar M. (2021). “ABD’nin 2022 Yılı Savunma Bütçesinde Türkiye’yi Ne Bekliyor?”, Pusula Güvenlik Araştırmaları Topluluğu, Erişim Adresi: https://www.pugat.org/guvenlik/abd/2021/12/28/abdnin-2022-yili-savunma-butcesinde-turkiyeyi-ne-bekliyor/
Congressman Chris Pappas Press Relase, 14 Temmuz 2022, “House Passes Pappas-Led Amendment Blocking Biden Administration's F-16 Sales to Turkey”, Erişim Adresi: https://pappas.house.gov/media/press-releases/house-passes-pappas-led-amendment-blocking-biden-administrations-f-16-sales
Karahanoğulları Y. (2011). ABD’nin Federal Bütçe Süreci, Maliye Dergisi y Sayı 160y Ocak -Haziran 2011, Erişim Adresi: https://ms.hmb.gov.tr/uploads/2019/09/013-1.pdf
Savunma, TRT Haber, “F-16 filosunu Block-70'e yükseltecek kabiliyete sahibiz! Türkiye bunu Özgür Projesi ile başardı”, 23 Aralık 2021, Erişim Adresi: https://www.trhaber.com/savunma/f-16-filosunu-block-70-e-yukseltecek-kabiliyete-sahibiz-turkiye-h25940.html
