President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on Monday reiterated that Türkiye’s removal from the F-35 fighter jet program was “unjust,” stressing that its reentry is key to NATO security.
Ankara was excluded from the U.S.-led multinational program in 2019 over its purchase of Russian-made S-400 air defense systems. Ever since, it has repeatedly called the move unfair and voiced hope that the sides could overcome the issue during U.S. President Donald Trump’s second term.
Erdoğan raised the issue during the September meeting with Trump at the White House. Last week, Trump said the U.S. was “very seriously” considering sale of F-35 jets to Türkiye.
“Türkiye’s receipt of the F-35 aircraft for which it has already paid, and its reintegration into the program, are important and necessary” for better relations with the U.S. and NATO’s defense, Erdoğan told Bloomberg News on Monday.
In late 2024, Ankara secured a $7 billion deal with Washington for 40 F-16s. But talks have reportedly been dogged by Turkish concerns about the price and desire to buy F-35s instead.
Erdoğan said Türkiye expects terms to be in line with the spirit of the NATO alliance, citing Ankara’s purchase of Eurofighter Typhoon fighter jets as an example.
In late October, Türkiye signed an agreement worth about 8 billion pounds ($10.7 billion) that covers 20 Eurofighter Typhoons jets that will be bought from the United Kingdom.
Ankara also plans to purchase 12 secondhand Eurofighters from Qatar and 12 others from Oman.
Despite boasting NATO’s second-largest army, Türkiye often faced arms embargoes in the past. That pushed it to significantly boost domestic capabilities and curb foreign dependence over the last two decades.
Today, it produces a wide range of vehicles and arms types domestically, including its own drones, missiles and naval vessels. It’s also developing its own fifth-generation fighter jet.
Named Kaan, the stealth fighter is sought to replace the Air Force Command’s aging F-16 fleet, which is planned to be phased out starting in the 2030s.
