Turkey’s F-35 Program: Trump Says a Decision Is Coming

President Trump says he’s lifting sanctions on Turkey and edging toward a call on F-35 sales — seven years after Ankara’s ouster from the stealth fighter program over a Russian missile system.

President Donald Trump said Tuesday the U.S. will lift sanctions on Turkey and is nearing a decision on selling it F-35 fighter jets, seven years after Ankara’s expulsion from the program.

Trump’s remarks, made alongside Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit in Ankara, mark the most concrete step yet toward restoring Turkey’s access to the F-35 since the U.S. removed the country from the program in 2019 over its purchase of a Russian S-400 air defense system. Any transfer still faces a legal obstacle: federal law bars F-35 sales to Turkey unless the Pentagon and State Department jointly certify that Ankara no longer possesses the S-400.

“We’re going to be taking the sanctions off,” Trump said during the bilateral meeting with Erdogan. He tasked Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent with beginning the process of lifting the sanctions, which were imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act.

On the F-35, Trump stopped short of announcing a deal but signaled one could follow. “It’s a decision we’re going to make … it’s a great plane, it’s the best, currently the best plane by far, and it’s certainly something we will consider,” he said.

The New York Times reported, citing four senior Trump administration officials, that the president was committed “in principle” to an F-35 deal with Turkey, though officials differed on how to work around the legal restrictions. One option under discussion is an exchange of letters between Trump and Erdogan.

Erdogan, for his part, said Turkey has received a commitment regarding five F-35s, an apparent reference to a batch of six F-35As that were built and paid for by Turkey but have sat in U.S. storage since the country’s removal from the program. “I believe a favourable decision on the F-35 issue will emerge from this leaders’ summit,” Erdogan said, according to FlightGlobal.

Turkey joined the F-35 program in 2002 as a Level III partner, eventually investing about $1.25 billion before the U.S. removed it in July 2019. The Pentagon has described the S-400 as a Russian intelligence-collection platform that could compromise the F-35’s stealth characteristics if the systems operated in proximity to each other.

Restoring Turkey to the program is not simply a matter of executive action. Section 1245 of the fiscal 2020 National Defense Authorization Act requires the defense secretary and secretary of state to jointly certify that Turkey no longer possesses the S-400 system and its personnel, has given credible assurances it won’t reacquire it, and hasn’t obtained other Russian defense systems that could compromise the F-35. A 90-day waiting period follows any certification, and the law includes no presidential waiver.

That legal hurdle has fueled bipartisan resistance in Congress. Rep. Gregory Meeks, D-N.Y., the ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the law leaves no room for interpretation. “The law is clear: Turkey cannot receive the F-35, and CAATSA sanctions should not be lifted while it continues to possess Russia’s S-400 air defense system,” Meeks said.

Meeks separately said the Trump administration informed him it would again bypass congressional review for a separate arms transfer to Turkey. “The administration informed me it would once again bypass congressional review for more than $700 million in defense articles to the Turkish military,” he said, referring to a General Electric F110 engine sale tied to Turkey’s indigenous KAAN fighter program.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has also lobbied against restoring Turkey’s F-35 access, telling CNN the sale “doesn’t make Turkey a friendly state to the United States.” In a separate interview, Netanyahu said he opposed supplying Turkey with F-35s or their engines, warning it “would upset the power balance in the Middle East which is ultimately guaranteed by Israeli air superiority and also by … America’s posture in the Middle East.”

Since its 2019 expulsion from the F-35 program, Turkey has pursued a multi-track approach to modernizing its air force. The U.S. approved a $23 billion sale of 40 new F-16s and 79 upgrade kits to Turkey in January 2024. Turkey also signed a $10.66 billion deal with the United Kingdom in October 2025 for 20 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, with deliveries set to begin in 2030. At the same time, Turkey’s domestically built KAAN fifth-generation fighter has advanced through flight testing since its maiden flight in February 2024.

Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler has said Ankara remains open to alternative security arrangements. “Our core approach on this issue is clear: we are open to all cooperation that meets our country’s security needs, that includes technology-sharing and joint production, and that is sustainable and in line with the spirit of the alliance,” Guler said.

Turkey’s S-400 system has never been operationally deployed. It was test-fired once, near Sinop, in October 2020 and has remained in storage since. Russia has proposed buying back the system, and Erdogan raised the possibility of returning it to Russian President Vladimir Putin in a meeting last year.