Türkiye Seeks Immediate Delivery of Six F-35 Jets If Trump Lifts Ban

Türkiye is moving to immediately secure six F-35 fighter jets currently stored in the U.S. if President Donald Trump formally lifts the export ban on the advanced aircraft.

Ankara previously paid $1.4 billion for the initial batch of Lockheed Martin stealth fighters before Washington froze the transaction.

Sanctions Reversal

Trump indicated a willingness to eliminate defense-sector penalties against Türkiye during a Tuesday bilateral meeting with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

The U.S. leader is currently in Ankara attending a NATO summit.

The U.S. State Department deflected inquiries about the policy shift, instead pointing to Trump's public statements.

Unnamed Turkish officials noted that removing the embargo could trigger a rapid transfer of the six aircraft, according to Bloomberg.

Acquiring the initial six airframes falls short of Ankara's original procurement target of approximately 40 jets. However, the transaction would deliver a substantial strategic victory for Erdogan.

Regional Calculations

Reintegrating Türkiye into the F-35 program is poised to alarm neighboring states in the Eastern Mediterranean. Greece maintains deep reservations regarding Ankara's military expansion.

Israel remains the sole Middle Eastern operator of the aircraft. Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has explicitly opposed granting Türkiye access to the platform.

U.S. Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth arrived in Ankara for the summit and was scheduled to travel to Israel on Wednesday to discuss the prospective transfer of F-35 aircraft. Israeli officials confirmed Hegseth abruptly canceled the Jerusalem visit without providing a reason.

The Russian Missile Dispute

Washington initially exiled Türkiye from the procurement program roughly a decade ago after Ankara acquired the Russian S-400 air-defense system.

NATO members argued the platform could enable Moscow to extract classified intelligence on F-35 operations.

U.S. policymakers maintain that Türkiye must completely discard the Russian hardware to resume stealth fighter acquisitions. Ankara is currently floating a compromise framework.

Under the Turkish proposal, U.S. personnel would maintain technical oversight of the S-400 batteries. Ankara would retain the missiles in reserve, activating them exclusively during severe national security emergencies.

Congressional Obstacles

Transferring the six jets requires navigating significant opposition within the U.S. Congress, which holds the authority to block the sale.

A contingent of lawmakers at the NATO summit showed preliminary openness to a resolution on Wednesday.

Democratic Senator Jeanne Shaheen stated that returning Türkiye to the aircraft consortium represents a positive step, provided the S-400 intelligence threat is mitigated.

Republican Senator Mike Rounds echoed this sentiment, highlighting Ankara's vital contributions to the alliance.

Domestic Defense Priorities

The push for the six F-35s aligns with broader Turkish efforts to construct a comprehensive "Steel Dome" air-defense architecture.

These plans involve negotiations with Paris to acquire the Franco-Italian SAMP/T system.

Ankara accelerated these air-defense initiatives after Iranian projectiles breached Turkish airspace during recent hostilities between Tehran, Washington, and Israel.

Both NATO and Turkish military units conducted interceptions to neutralize the incoming fire.

Erdogan continues to leverage the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine and ongoing Middle Eastern conflicts to underscore his nation's utility to the Western alliance.

Turkish officials argue this volatile security environment necessitates deeper integration between U.S., European, and Turkish defense manufacturing sectors.