United States Reverses Course: Türkiye May Be Allowed to Purchase F-35s Again

(DEFENCE SECURITY ASIA) – The United States is reportedly reconsidering selling F-35 fighter jets to Türkiye after observing Ankara’s capability to develop its own fifth-generation fighter, the “KAAN.”

Türkiye’s Defense Minister, Yaşar Güler, made the statement while addressing members of the country’s parliament.

“When the United States saw that we could develop the fifth-generation KAAN fighter, their stance shifted somewhat. Now they are stating that they could provide the F-35,” he said.

“We emphasized that production rights should be reinstated to us. We also stated that we aim to purchase 40 F-35 jets,” Güler added.

The first prototype of the KAAN fighter jet completed its maiden flight on February 21 this year, followed by a second flight on May 6.

 Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS) is expected to begin delivering 20 KAAN Block 10 fighter jets to the Turkish Air Force by 2028.

The Turkish Air Force is projected to acquire more than 100 KAAN fifth-generation fighter jets once the aircraft enters mass production.

It was reported that Türkiye may also regain the ability to purchase six F-35 jets that have already been built but cannot be delivered and are currently stored in hangars in the United States.

Türkiye was removed from the F-35 development program in 2019 following its procurement of the Russian-made S-400 long-range air defense system.

Washington expressed concerns that the Russian S-400 system posed security risks to the F-35 fighter jets developed by Lockheed Martin.

Türkiye’s acquisition of the S-400 system made it the first NATO member state to face sanctions under the U.S. Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA).

Güler explained that Türkiye had not received a positive response to its repeated requests to purchase the U.S.-made Patriot air defense system, which led it to turn to Russia for the S-400 system.

“We had to purchase the S-400. At this point, the United States no longer objects to the S-400 system,” he said.

Reports indicate that Türkiye can operationalize the S-400 system in combat mode within just 12 minutes.

“Türkiye can deploy the S-400 system in combat mode within 12 minutes,” Güler stated.

Ankara signed an agreement with Moscow in 2017 to procure the S-400 system for an estimated cost of $2.5 billion (approximately RM10 billion).

The first regiment of the S-400 system was delivered to Türkiye in 2019.

The S-400 “Triumf” system is a high-powered air defense system capable of neutralizing aerial threats from a range of up to 400 kilometers.

The latest developments regarding the F-35 follow Güler’s recent announcement that Germany has approved the sale of 40 Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets to Türkiye.

Initially, Germany opposed the sale but eventually agreed under pressure from European partners involved in the Eurofighter Typhoon program, including Italy, the United Kingdom, and Spain.

“We will purchase 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets. Germany objected to the sale for a long time but finally agreed after pressure from NATO allies like Italy, the UK, and Spain,” Güler said.

The Eurofighter Typhoon was developed by a consortium of four nations: Germany, the United Kingdom, Spain, and Italy.

Güler also revealed that Türkiye had canceled a previous agreement to purchase 79 F-16 modernization kits from the United States.

The cancellation was attributed to Türkiye’s domestic defense industry, particularly TUSAS, which has the capability to modernize the aging F-16 fleet using indigenous technology.

However, Ankara will continue with the planned purchase of 40 F-16 Block 70 fighter jets. — DSA