Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jun 30

Trump Administration Advances $700 Million Turkey Jet Sale as Congress Challenges S-400 Risks

Updated

Updated · Fox News · Jun 30

Trump Administration Advances $700 Million Turkey Jet Sale as Congress Challenges S-400 Risks

Q: With Turkey returning its Russian missiles, will this engine deal lead to its controversial return to the F-35 fighter program?

No. Even if Turkey sends the S-400s back to Russia, the engine sale for the KAAN fighter does not by itself put Ankara back into the F-35 program. The $700 million deal is for GE-made engines for Turkey’s indigenous KAAN jet, not for F-35s. U.S. officials and analysts treat it as a separate transaction and, at most, a sign of limited defense-industrial re-engagement. It does not remove the legal and political barriers blocking F-35 participation. Those barriers remain substantial. U.S. law bars Turkey’s return to the F-35 program while it possesses the Russian S-400 system. Secretary of State Marco Rubio has said that restriction still applies. So if Turkey verifiably gives up the S-400 and makes it inoperable or no longer in its possession, that would remove the main legal obstacle — but only that obstacle. The bigger problem is Washington’s broader distrust of Ankara’s policies. Members of Congress from both parties remain strongly opposed, citing Turkey’s ties with Hamas, refusal to join sanctions on Russia, disputes with Greece and Cyprus, and concerns about protecting sensitive U.S. stealth technology. Lawmakers are already preparing measures to block any attempt to restore Turkey to the F-35 program even if the S-400 issue is resolved. So the engine deal may improve the atmosphere and support Turkey’s KAAN project, but it is not a pathway to an F-35 return. At most, returning the S-400s would reopen the debate; it would not settle it.

2 articles · Updated · Fox News · Jun 30

$700 million in defense articles—mostly fighter jets—are moving to Turkey after the State Department notified Rep. Gregory Meeks it would bypass Congress.
Meeks said the administration offered no emergency authority, written rationale or substantive briefing, despite concerns over U.S.-Turkey ties, regional security and Ankara’s continued possession of Russia’s S-400 system.
The S-400 issue remains central because Washington sanctioned Turkey in 2019, removed it from the F-35 program and barred its return while the Russian air-defense system is still in place.
For Ankara, the sale is strategically bigger than a routine arms package: analysts say U.S.-made GE engines are critical to moving Turkey’s KAAN fighter from prototype toward serial production.
The move also lands as Erdogan prepares to host the 2026 NATO summit, drawing fresh opposition from four pro-Trump lawmakers who cited Turkey’s stance on Russia, Hamas and Eastern Mediterranean disputes.