# Trump Signals F‑35 and Engine Green Light for Turkey, Putting NATO Technology and Leverage in Play

*Thursday, June 25, 2026 at 6:17 AM UTC — Hamer Intelligence Services Desk*

**Published**: 2026-06-25T06:17:39.448Z (4h ago)
**Category**: geopolitics | **Region**: Middle East
**Importance**: 8/10
**Sources**: OSINT
**Permalink**: https://hamerintel.com/data/articles/8732.md
**Source**: https://hamerintel.com/summaries

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**Deck**: President Donald Trump is hinting he will soon approve the sale of F‑35 jets and F‑110 engines to Turkey, even as senior officials say conditions are still under review. The potential deal would give Ankara access to top-tier U.S. airpower and support its indigenous KAAN fighter program, reshaping leverage inside NATO and triggering new concerns over technology security.

Turkey’s long-running battle to secure advanced U.S. fighter technology is edging back toward a yes, with President Donald Trump publicly hinting that he will soon approve the sale of F‑35 aircraft and F‑110 jet engines to Ankara. The signals from the White House suggest a political decision is close, even as senior officials stress that several conditions still have to be met before any transfer is finalized.

Trump has indicated in recent remarks that he is inclined to move ahead with authorizing both the stealth fighters and the engines. In parallel, Vice President JD Vance described the status of the review by noting that Defense Secretary Pete and his team are "examining the issue right now" because there are "several conditions" that must be considered. Those caveats underscore that the sale is not yet approved, but the direction of travel is clear: Washington is re-opening a door it previously slammed in Ankara’s face.

The human and operational stakes begin with pilots and ground crews on both sides of the Aegean. For Turkish airmen, access to fifth-generation F‑35s would dramatically expand capabilities for deep strike, air defense suppression and intelligence gathering. For neighboring allies and rivals — from Greece and Cyprus to Israel and Arab partners — the prospect of Turkish stealth jets and a more advanced domestic fleet built around the KAAN program would immediately change how air dominance, deterrence and crisis escalation are calculated.

Turkey’s interest in F‑110 engines is explicitly tied to that indigenous KAAN fighter, which Ankara plans as a partial replacement for its aging F‑16s. Selling the engines would entrench U.S. hardware at the heart of Turkey’s long-term aerospace industry, giving Ankara both a boost in capability and leverage over future maintenance and supply chains. It would also mean that future crises with Ankara could play out against the backdrop of Washington’s ability to slow or cut off critical components for Turkish-made combat aircraft.

For NATO, the decision cuts both ways. Reintegrating Turkey into the top tier of alliance airpower could ease some tensions and reward Ankara for moves that aligned with U.S. interests, such as its handling of Nordic NATO access and certain defense procurements. At the same time, congressional critics and influential commentators have warned against "handing over our best technology" to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s government, raising concerns about how secure sensitive systems and software would be once in Turkish hands — and about political uses of those capabilities near contested borders.

The deal would also resonate beyond alliance politics. Russia and China both court Turkey as a partner able to complicate Western decision-making and dilute consensus inside NATO. If Washington proceeds with a major fighter and engine sale, it may pull Ankara closer on some issues while feeding Russian narratives that U.S. weapons come with strings attached. For defense markets, the combination of F‑35 access and KAAN development using U.S. engines could turn Turkey into an exporter competing in regions where American and European firms have traditionally dominated.

The deeper question is how Washington balances immediate alliance management with long-term technology security. Once cutting-edge combat systems are delivered, they cannot be easily clawed back, and the political leadership that receives them may not be the leadership that controls them a decade later. Advanced fighters and engines do not just defend airspace; they also change how governments think about risk, intervention and bargaining with neighbors.

The next inflection points will be formal notifications to Congress, any public articulation of the "conditions" the administration says are under review, and reactions from other NATO members most directly affected by Turkish airpower. Watch for whether the F‑35s and F‑110 engines are packaged together or decoupled, what restrictions are attached to engine use in the KAAN program, and whether opponents of the deal in Washington can slow or reshape it before export licenses are signed.