# Turkey Uses NATO Stage to Press F‑35, Engines and Sanctions Relief, Exposing Alliance Frictions

*Wednesday, July 8, 2026 at 6:09 PM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-07-08T18:09:13.901Z (2h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Middle East
**Importance**: 8/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/10422.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

---

**Deck**: At the NATO summit in Ankara, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan cast Turkey as an indispensable military power while pressing Donald Trump on F‑35 jets, F‑110 engines and the lifting of U.S. sanctions. Ankara’s mix of praise, grievance and ambition shows how a front‑line ally is trying to turn its geography and defense industry into leverage over Washington and Europe.

Turkey turned this week’s NATO summit in Ankara into a showcase of its military ambitions and grievances, with President Recep Tayyip Erdogan using the stage to press Donald Trump on fighter jet deals and sanctions relief while warning Europe not to sideline Ankara in emerging defense plans.

Erdogan told reporters that he had discussed engines for Turkey’s indigenous KAAN fighter jet with Trump, saying the U.S. leader had shown a “positive approach” to supplying F‑110 engines and adding, “Hopefully there will be no problem.” On the long‑running dispute over F‑35s, Erdogan said Trump had adopted a positive stance toward delivering the aircraft to Turkey, expressing hope that, when they arrive, “the whole world will say, ‘The United States has kept its word.’” Trump himself, speaking separately, said he had not made a final decision but that his inclination was to approve the sale because Erdogan had “helped us in so many different ways.”

At the same time, Erdogan declared that the United States was no longer enforcing any sanctions against Turkey and that “by and large, those measures have already been lifted,” a statement that reflects Ankara’s perception of U.S. policy but has not been detailed in formal U.S. announcements. He appeared alongside his defense minister, chief of general staff, foreign minister and vice president, saying they had all seen that sanctions were not being applied. Washington has eased some pressure points on Turkey in recent months, but the status of all measures, particularly those linked to Russian arms purchases, remains complex.

For Turkish defense planners and industry executives, these signals matter. Ankara has invested heavily in its own fighter jets, tanks, ships and air defense systems, with Erdogan telling allies that Turkey is among the rare NATO members producing all of these domestically and ranking near the top in unmanned systems and naval vessels. Access to U.S. technology — from F‑110 engines to components for KAAN — could accelerate those programs, while F‑35 participation would give Turkish pilots and engineers a stake in NATO’s premier combat aircraft for decades.

Erdogan also used the summit to underline Turkey’s role in alliance operations, noting that Turkish F‑16s will deploy to Estonia from August for NATO air policing and that Turkey will command the KFOR mission in Kosovo until at least late 2026. He described the Turkish Armed Forces as NATO’s second‑largest land army, claiming they can eliminate any threat to national security at its source and arguing that the alliance’s southeastern flank has long rested on Turkish shoulders.

Yet the tone was not simply celebratory. Erdogan complained that Turkey had not benefited from the “peace dividend” after the Cold War to the same extent as European allies, saying his country was often left alone to deal with regional crises and unfair treatment. He warned that European Union defense efforts must complement, not duplicate, NATO and stressed that when non‑EU allies like Turkey are not fully included in EU defense structures, the system is weakened.

For European governments, Erdogan’s message is a reminder that Turkey expects a say — and a share of contracts — in any new defense initiatives, from joint procurement to industrial partnerships. For Washington, it is a signal that Ankara will keep linking its frontline military contributions to expectations of technology transfers and respect for Turkish red lines on issues like Greece, where Erdogan said he and Prime Minister Kyriakos Mitsotakis now share a view on resolving Aegean disputes through leader‑level talks.

The underlying insight is that Turkey is no longer content to be seen as NATO’s junior southeastern outpost; it is trying to recast itself as a co‑architect of the alliance’s future hardware and strategy, with the F‑35 and engine talks as test cases.

The next moves to watch are whether Washington formally clears or delays F‑35 and engine sales to Turkey, how EU leaders respond to Erdogan’s warnings about defense duplication, and whether Ankara’s promised deployments in Estonia and Kosovo shift perceptions of Turkey in allied capitals from difficult partner to indispensable pillar — or leave suspicions intact.