Ankara was removed from the F-35 programme in 2019
US President Donald Trump’s apparent determination to make Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan “happy” at the NATO summit in Ankara next month has heightened concerns in neighbouring Greece and Israel, both of which oppose any sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey.
“I’m going to probably do something that will make them (Turkey) very happy,” Trump said last week when asked about his plans for the NATO summit in Ankara on 7–8 July.
Reuters reported that the Trump administration has already notified Congress of its intention to approve the sale of US engines worth €613 million for KAAN, Turkey’s fifth-generation fighter aircraft, which is currently under development.
The bigger question, however, is whether Washington will also pave the way for Turkey to acquire F-35 fighter jets. Ankara was removed from the F-35 programme in 2019 after purchasing the Russian S-400 air defence system, which Washington argued posed a threat to the aircraft’s sensitive technology by potentially collecting radar data on the F-35.
