Trump reportedly open to resuming F-35 fighter jet sales to Türkiye

U.S. President Donald Trump is reportedly considering lifting sanctions on Türkiye and resuming sales of fighter jets, including the fifth-generation F-35s, according to a report by Fox News on Friday.

Citing two sources familiar with the matter, Fox News reported that Trump expressed an interest in finalizing the sale of F-16 fighter jets to Türkiye following a phone call with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan last Sunday. The F-16 deal has been under negotiation for some time.

Trump is also reportedly open to the idea of selling F-35 jets to Türkiye, “if both sides reach an agreement that would render Türkiye’s Russian S-400 system inoperable,” the report said. The S-400 purchase led to Türkiye’s suspension from the F-35 program in 2019.

During Sunday’s call, Erdogan reportedly urged Trump to improve bilateral defense cooperation by lifting sanctions imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) and finalizing the F-16 sale, as well as reintegrating Türkiye into the F-35 program.

The report added that Trump’s team has requested legal and technical analysis on how to avoid determining Türkiye is in violation of CAATSA.

In 2019, the U.S. suspended Türkiye from the F-35 program after it purchased the Russian S-400 missile defense system, citing concerns the system would compromise the security of the fighter jets.

Türkiye has repeatedly asserted there is no conflict between the S-400 system and the F-35 jets and has proposed establishing a commission to investigate the issue. Ankara maintains that it fulfilled its obligations for the F-35 program and that the suspension violated agreements. Türkiye also argues the defense deal would strengthen both Türkiye and NATO.

Last year, the U.S. State Department approved a $23 billion sale of F-16 aircraft and modernization kits to Türkiye, with talks on the details of the deal ongoing.