AFP, ISTANBUL, Turkey
US President Donald Trump’s visit to Ankara for the NATO summit could help secure Turkey’s acquisition of dozens of fighter jet engines, but would not resolve the F-35 dispute that has soured ties, analysts say. The summit that would take place tomorrow and on Wednesday, and be hosted by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, would bring together leaders from the military alliance’s 32 member states. Last month, Trump promised to make Erdogan “very happy” when asked about Turkey looking to secure F110 jet engines and being readmitted to the F-35 program. Analysts said it would likely mean freeing up fighter jet engines Turkey wants to use in its flagship Kaan stealth fighter project.
A waiter puts the finishing touches on a table, which has been symbolically reserved and prepared for US President Donald Trump, at a restaurant in Ankara on Saturday ahead of this week’s NATO summit.
“It’s likely to be the green light for the F110 GE [General Electric] engines for the Kaan fighter plane, about 40 of them. There had been obstacles to that supply and very possibly those are now being removed,” said Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul-based Edam think tank. “Turkey has produced a couple of prototypes which are flying with the F110 engine, but it has been waiting for the supply of additional engines to increase the number of Kaan platforms,” Ulgen said.
