Trump Says U.S. Will Consider Returning Turkey to F-35 Program

President Donald Trump said July 7 that the United States would consider returning Turkey to the F-35 fighter program. Speaking next to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Bestepe Presidential Compound in Ankara, Trump described the move as something the administration would examine.

Trump also said the United States would lift sanctions on Turkey imposed in 2020 under the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act over Ankara's acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defense system.

"We're going to be taking the sanctions off," he said. "It's time to do that. Okay? We don't want to sanction friends. " "We have a very good relationship," Trump said. He added that Turkey had shown greater loyalty than some traditional partners.

The meeting marked the first visit to Turkey by a U.S. president in 11 years. Turkey joined the F-35 program early and planned to purchase 100 F-35A aircraft. Its first jet rolled off the production line in 2018.

The first Trump administration removed Turkey from the program in July 2019 after Ankara acquired the S-400. A top Pentagon official estimated at the time that Turkey would lose roughly $9 billion in production profits over the life of the program, while shifting the work back to the United States would cost the Pentagon $500 million to $600 million.

Six Turkish-owned F-35s remain in storage in the United States, and Turkey has paid $1.7 billion for them, according to a 2025 Congressional Research Service report.

The 2020 National Defense Authorization Act bars the Pentagon from transferring F-35s to Turkey while it possesses the S-400. Bipartisan congressional opposition to giving Turkey the F-35 has persisted since the removal. Republican Sen.

John Cornyn of Texas, a member of the Foreign Relations Committee, has indicated concerns about letting Turkey back into the program.