Trump's Visit Could Unlock F110 Engine Supply for Turkiye's KAAN Stealth Fighter
US President Donald Trump's upcoming visit to Ankara for the NATO summit on July 7-8 is expected to facilitate Turkiye's acquisition of dozens of F110 fighter jet engines, but the long-standing F-35 dispute is unlikely to be resolved, analysts say. The summit, hosted by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, will bring together leaders from NATO's 32 member states.
Last month, Trump promised to make Erdogan "very happy" regarding Turkiye's request for F110 engines and potential readmission to the F-35 program. Analysts interpret this as a likely green light for the engines, which are crucial for Turkiye's flagship KAAN stealth fighter project.
KAAN Project Depends on US-Made Engines
Sinan Ulgen, director of the Istanbul-based Edam think tank, told AFP: "It's likely to be the green light for the F110 GE engines for the KAAN fighter plane, about 40 of them. There had been obstacles to that supply and very possibly those are now being removed." He explained that Turkiye has produced several prototypes flying with F110 engines but has been waiting for additional engines to increase the number of KAAN platforms.
KAAN is a twin-engine stealth fighter developed by Turkish Aerospace Industries (TAI) to replace the Turkish Air Force's F-16 fleet, as Ankara aims to join the exclusive club of nations producing fifth-generation combat aircraft, including the US, China, and Russia.
Domestic Engine Development Still in Early Stages
Although Turkiye plans to eventually fit the KAAN with a domestically produced engine, that project is still in the preliminary design phase, Defense Minister Yasar Guler said in September. The F110 engines lack stealth capability, but are needed in the interim. Turkiye received a first batch of 10 F110s in September, and talks with the US government to acquire 80 more were "ongoing," Guler noted.
The engine supply has been held up by a lack of political clearance linked to Turkiye's 2017 acquisition of a Russian S-400 missile defense system, Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said in September. Infuriated, Washington expelled Turkiye from the F-35 program in 2019 and imposed CAATSA sanctions a year later, hampering Turkish defense projects and souring bilateral ties.
"The CAATSA issue must be resolved. The US needs to take steps both regarding the F-35 and the engines for KAAN. KAAN's engines are currently awaiting approval in the US Congress," Fidan said, a remark that raised eyebrows in Turkiye, as Ankara had previously claimed the KAAN would be entirely domestically produced.
Shift Toward Self-Sufficiency
Turkiye's exclusion from the F-35 program has forced it to refocus on self-sufficiency. Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, head of the German Marshall Fund in Ankara, said: "Some argue we should not buy F-35s and invest that money into our own fifth-generation fighter jet program. And that's exactly what's happening with President Trump's decision to export jet engines. Without those engines, Turkiye cannot produce the KAAN jet."
With KAAN delivery years away, only Indonesia has placed an order, signing a $10 billion contract to buy 48 fighters. The NATO summit could generate further interest, Ulgen said. "Looking at the failure of the German-French FCAS initiative, there may be some interest. Spain could potentially become a partner and there may be interest from the Gulf as well... But there are more obstacles to be overcome for it to become a credible offer on the international stage."
F-35 Deadlock Remains
Experts expect little progress on the lingering F-35 dispute. To lift CAATSA sanctions, Ankara would need to get rid of the S-400 system, but selling it to a third country requires Moscow's approval, and returning it to Russia is not on the cards. Professor Mustafa Aydin, an international relations expert at Istanbul's Kadir Has University, said: "The US administration might wish to... put this issue behind it and sell Turkiye some F-35, but that will go to Congress and changing the congressional decision won't be easy."
However, Matthew Bryza, a retired US envoy and former senior White House and State Department official, argued that Trump could move to resolve the matter because the F-35 exclusion was an executive decision he could easily reverse. "President Trump can certainly declare that the S-400/F-35 dispute is finished. It's the CAATSA sanctions that require congressional action. Whether he can persuade Congress to do that, depends on how much political capital he's willing to expend," he told AFP, noting that such a move could be "politically costly in the lead up to the midterm elections" due to opposition from Greek and Armenian diaspora groups.
