The US Senate General Assembly on Friday dismissed a bill proposed by Senator Rand Paul that sought to prohibit the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Turkey.
The Senate voted with a majority of 79 to 13 against the disapproval motion introduced by Paul on February 5th.
On January 26th, the US State Department formally notified Congress of its approval for a deal to sell 40 fighters to Turkey, in addition to upgrading its current fleet.
Following the expiration of the official 15-day period after the notification reached Congress on February 10th, the critical phase in the F-16 sale deal to Turkey concluded. No senator expressed reservations about the fighter jet sale to Turkey, except for Kentucky Senator Rand Paul.
Moreover, the Senate Foreign Relations Committee did not undertake any legal action aligned with Senator Paul’s objection to the deal.
Turkey had requested 40 new F-16 “Block 70” aircraft from the United States, along with upgrade kits for 79 fighters in the Turkish Air Force fleet.
