US Weighs Turkey's Return to F-35 Programme As Trump Meets Erdogan

US President Donald Trump is expected to throw his support behind the potential sale of F-35 fighter jets to Turkey during a visit to Ankara for a NATO summit according to a Reuters report. Two sources familiar with the matter said, in what would be the biggest gesture yet to President Tayyip Erdogan, whom he regularly praises as a close ally.

The move would mark a significant shift in US-Turkey ties, which have been strained since Ankara's 2019 acquisition of the Russian S-400 air defence system. In response, Washington imposed sanctions on a major Turkish defence company and removed Turkey from the F-35 stealth fighter jet programme, where Ankara had also been a production partner. Congress passed a law prohibiting any F-35 sales to Turkey as long as Ankara retained the S-400s, citing security risks to US-made combat aircraft.

Currently, US law does not permit Turkey to operate or possess the S-400 system if it wishes to rejoin the F-35 programme. One solution that has gained traction in recent weeks is to send the Russian system to a third country, though an agreement has yet to be sealed, according to the sources. It was unclear whether such a move would be accepted by Russia, which requires end-user obligations in weapons sales.

Trump's 'Gift' to Turkey

When asked late last month by reporters if he would have any "gifts" for Turkey, Trump said: "I'm going to probably do something that will make them very happy". Vice President JD Vance said a review was underway to see if Turkey had complied with US laws so that it could receive the F-35 fighter jets.

Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan said last week that Erdogan and Trump share a "strong political will" to remove US sanctions imposed on Turkey, though they declined to lay out a timetable. In December, US Ambassador to Turkey Tom Barrack said the warm ties between the two leaders helped the sides hold "the most fruitful conversations we have had on this topic in nearly a decade".

However, Trump would face opposition at home and abroad. In an interview on Fox News, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said he opposed any US military sales to Turkey, warning that the move could "upset the power balance in the Middle East".

NATO Summit Amid Tensions

Turkey is hosting the 36th NATO summit at Ankara's Beştepe Presidential Complex on July 7 – the first time the country has hosted the alliance's leaders since Istanbul in 2004. The summit comes at a moment when NATO's internal fault lines are more visible than they have been in years.

Erdogan has pushed hard to use the summit as a reputational reset, telling his party's parliamentary group last month that he wanted the Ankara summit to become "a reference point in NATO's history". His leverage with Trump, who has described their relationship as one of mutual 24-hour availability, helped him secure Trump's attendance at a summit the US president publicly said he had little interest in attending.

The summit agenda focuses on turning last year's pledge for allies to spend 5% of GDP on defence by 2035 into concrete plans, alongside locking in long-term support for Ukraine. NATO Secretary General Mark Rutte has framed the summit around a single phrase: implementation, not production.

Domestic Crackdown and Regional Tensions

The summit has been overshadowed by a security crackdown in Ankara. Authorities imposed a province-wide ban on all public assemblies from June 28 to July 10, citing "national security" concerns. On Sunday, Turkish authorities detained more than 100 people during an anti-NATO protest march organised by the Communist Party of Turkey (TKP). TKP Secretary General Kemal Okuyan said: "We said that we would not hand over Ankara to supporters of NATO, that we would not allow Ankara to remain silent. We have fulfilled that promise".

The detentions follow a broader crackdown. Of the 225 people detained during dawn raids on June 23, 103 were remanded. Separately, 39 others, including journalists, activists and academics, were detained in anti-terror raids across the country. Tuncer Bakirhan, co-chair of Turkey's pro-Kurdish DEM Party, said: "The country has been fully turned into a detention centre by using the NATO summit as an excuse".

The summit also takes place against a backdrop of heightened geopolitical tensions. NATO has reinforced its northern maritime posture following Russia's invasion of Ukraine, and a Russian military aircraft recently approached the Royal Navy's flagship HMS Prince of Wales in the Norwegian Sea.

Meanwhile, Pakistan and Turkey have reaffirmed their strategic partnership, with Prime Minister Shehbaz Sharif declaring: "Turkiye's success is Pakistan's success, Pakistan's progress is Turkiye's progress". The two leaders pledged to increase bilateral trade to $5 billion from about $1.3 billion in 2024. Erdogan described defence cooperation as a key pillar of their economic partnership.

Pakistan's military has also threatened "all measures necessary" to secure its water rights under the Indus Waters Treaty, which India has held in abeyance since the April 2025 Pahalgam terror attack. The military conference warned that stopping or diverting water would be viewed as an "act of war".