BAKU, Azerbaijan, April 5. Turkish-made equipment proved itself during operations in Azerbaijan's Karabakh, Spokesperson for Turkish President Ibrahim Kalin said in an interview with Anadolu, TurkicWorld reports.

As is known, during the second Karabakh war (2020), Turkish-made military equipment was used by Azerbaijan, who liberated its lands from Armenian occupation.

Ibrahim Kalin pointed out that Türkiye made progress in development of the defense industry.

Then he touched upon the F-16 issue, saying that it will fade into the background in the next 5-10 years, and Türkiye will lose nothing.

Türkiye, a NATO member, requested in October 2021 to buy 40 Lockheed Martin Corp. F-16 fighters and nearly 80 modernization kits for its existing warplanes. The Joe Biden administration has said it supports the sale and has been in touch for months with Congress on an informal basis to win its approval. However, it has failed so far to secure a green light.

According to a Reuters report, while the sale is still in the informal review process, Congress is also unlikely to approve the sale as long as Türkiye refuses to proceed with the ratification of Sweden and Finland's NATO membership.