Turkey is making a renewed push to rejoin the F-35 Lightning II fifth-generation stealth fighter jet program—a program it was expelled from in 2019 following its controversial acquisition of the Russian S-400 missile defense system.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, comes at a politically opportune time. U.S. President Donald Trump has returned to power in Washington following his re-election, and Erdoğan is leveraging his longstanding rapport with Trump to revive Turkey’s bid to regain access to the F-35, which has remained one of the world’s most advanced and exclusive defense platforms.
Turkey was once a core member of the F-35 program. As a manufacturing partner, Turkish defense firms were contracted to produce nearly 900 key components of the stealth aircraft. The country had paid $1.4 billion in anticipation of purchasing at least 100 of the F-35A variant and had trained Turkish pilots for the program.
But Turkey’s decision in 2017 to procure the Russian S-400 Triumf air defense system set off alarms in Washington. The United States, concerned that the deployment of S-400s could compromise the F-35’s sensitive radar and stealth technology, initiated a series of escalatory actions. In 2019, under then-President Trump, Turkey was formally expelled from the program and sanctioned under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).
It was a major rupture between NATO allies, and for years afterward, U.S.-Turkey relations in the defense sector remained frozen, despite overtures from both sides.
At the recent NATO Summit held in The Hague, Erdoğan seized the diplomatic moment. According to statements released by his office on June 26, the Turkish President discussed the F-35 issue directly with President Trump in a closed-door session. While specific details of their conversation remain undisclosed, Erdoğan was candid during his return flight.
“We have not given up on the F-35s. We are discussing our intention to return to the program with our counterparts,” Erdoğan said. “We discussed the issue in our meeting with Mr. Trump. Talks at a technical level have started. God willing, we will make progress.”
This is the strongest signal yet that Turkey is seeking a formal pathway back into the program. Ankara’s lobbying effort reflects a broader re-alignment in its foreign policy—one more accommodative to U.S. and NATO defense postures.
Despite Erdoğan’s optimism, re-entry into the F-35 program is anything but straightforward.
Washington’s primary concern has always been the S-400 system, which was designed to shoot down stealth aircraft and was built with the radar technology that could potentially expose the F-35’s vulnerabilities if both systems coexisted in the same military network.
But recent developments may offer a window of opportunity. Earlier this year, reports from Fox News suggested that Trump’s defense advisors were exploring mechanisms to allow Turkey back into the F-35 fold—provided the S-400 systems are rendered inoperative. One floated solution involved relocating the S-400s to a secure U.S. base inside Turkey or disassembling them entirely.
Such a compromise could allow the Pentagon to justify Turkey’s return without jeopardizing the F-35’s classified systems.
Still, a major stumbling block remains: Israel.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has reportedly lobbied U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio and influential lawmakers to oppose any F-35 deal with Turkey. According to Middle East Eye, Netanyahu cited Ankara’s growing military presence in Syria and its increasingly assertive foreign policy in the Eastern Mediterranean.
The Israeli concern stems from the “Qualitative Military Edge” (QME) doctrine, which ensures that Israel maintains technological superiority over all neighboring militaries. Israel is currently the sole operator of the F-35 in the Middle East, and it wants to keep it that way. The sale of F-35s to Turkey—although technically a NATO ally and not a Middle Eastern state—has long been viewed by Tel Aviv as a red line.
Parallel to its F-35 ambitions, Turkey is also pursuing the Eurofighter Typhoon, a 4.5-generation multi-role combat aircraft jointly developed by the UK, Germany, Italy, and Spain. Ankara has expressed its interest in acquiring 40 units to replenish its rapidly aging F-4 and F-16 fleets.
But like the F-35, the Eurofighter deal has met with resistance—this time from Germany. Berlin halted all major arms exports to Turkey following Ankara’s 2019 military incursion into northeastern Syria targeting Kurdish forces. Human rights concerns and political differences over Syria, Libya, and the Eastern Mediterranean have kept the arms embargo largely in place.
That may now be changing. With Friedrich Merz assuming Germany’s chancellorship and advocating a more pragmatic foreign policy, the German daily Handelsblatt recently reported that Berlin is “reconsidering” the Typhoon sale to Turkey.
Should Germany reverse course, it would open the door for Turkey to assemble a diversified fleet composed of Eurofighters, F-16s (some of which are undergoing upgrades), and potentially the F-35.
When Turkey was unceremoniously removed from the F-35 program in 2019, its leadership responded by fast-tracking the development of an indigenous fifth-generation fighter jet: the KAAN (formerly TF-X). Produced by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI), the KAAN is envisioned as a stealth, multirole platform to be the future mainstay of the Turkish Air Force.
The project made significant strides in 2024 and 2025, with successful ground tests and limited taxi runs. The first flight is expected in 2026.
Interestingly, Erdoğan has suggested that the KAAN program may have indirectly softened Washington’s stance. In November 2024, Turkish Defense Minister Yaşar Güler remarked that U.S. officials were “impressed” by Turkey’s progress and that the program’s maturity had changed “strategic calculations.”
“Now that they’ve seen our progress with KAAN, their stance seems to be shifting,” Güler noted. “We’ve officially resubmitted our offer to buy the F-35.”
Adding to Ankara’s sense of urgency is the recent U.S. approval of F-35 sales to Greece—Turkey’s historic rival in the Mediterranean and a fellow NATO member. For Turkish defense planners, this dramatically alters the balance of air power in the region.
With Greece expected to begin taking delivery of the F-35 by 2027, Turkey is increasingly desperate to keep pace technologically. While the KAAN may offer long-term parity, it is still years away from frontline readiness. Hence, the F-35 remains a crucial gap-filler.
Since returning to office in 2025, Trump has signaled a warmer tone towards Erdoğan. His appointment of Tom Barrack as the new U.S. envoy to Ankara was interpreted as a sign of trust and a desire for strategic realignment.
In May 2025, Erdoğan stated that sanctions under CAATSA were “softening,” adding that he had raised the issue directly with Trump and Barrack.
“We have achieved a more open, more constructive and more sincere communication on these issues,” Erdoğan told reporters. “I believe we will overcome the CAATSA process much faster.”
Indeed, in an April phone call, Erdoğan reportedly urged Trump to lift the sanctions and finalize both the F-16 sale and Turkey’s re-entry into the F-35 consortium.
Foreign policy experts like Aaron Stein have pointed out that the U.S. has practical reasons to reconsider its hardline stance. Budget constraints and production slowdowns have prompted the Pentagon to reduce its F-35 orders in the coming years. This opens the door for new export customers.
“The U.S. Air Force may be forced to cut the overall buy of the jet to pay for other budgetary priorities,” Stein explains. “Pressures to export the jet to new customers will increase.”
Turkey, with a large and modernizing air force, represents an ideal candidate. The key, analysts argue, is for Ankara to reach a workable solution on the S-400 issue, demonstrating a willingness to compartmentalize Russian systems and eliminate interoperability risks.
The coming months will be pivotal. With diplomatic backchannels now reopened and Trump’s administration apparently more flexible, the possibility of a partial Turkish return to the F-35 program no longer seems implausible.
If Turkey agrees to neutralize its S-400 systems—either through physical relocation or mothballing—it could remove the most contentious barrier. If Germany lifts its embargo on the Eurofighter, Turkey would be poised to rebuild its air fleet with top-tier aircraft from both NATO and indigenous sources.
But none of this is guaranteed. Congressional resistance remains formidable, and Israel’s lobbying efforts are not to be underestimated. Furthermore, Erdoğan’s authoritarian domestic policies and foreign policy adventurism continue to worry many in Washington and Brussels.
Yet, the logic of realpolitik suggests that a compromise may soon emerge.
For Turkey, the F-35 represents not just a weapon but a symbol of geopolitical reintegration. For the U.S., a recalibrated defense partnership with Turkey could serve to reinforce NATO’s southeastern flank amid intensifying global competition.
