Trump to Restore Turkey's F-35 Access After 6-Year Freeze

President Trump is expected to announce that Turkey will regain access to the U.S. F-35 stealth fighter program, ending a freeze that began in 2019 when Washington barred Ankara after it purchased Russia's S-400 air defense system. The restoration would mark one of the most consequential U.S. defense policy reversals in recent NATO history — and one with deep implications for every power corridor between the Pentagon and Capitol Hill.

KEY TAKEAWAYS

• Trump is expected to announce Turkey's reinstatement into the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, reversing a 2019 ban.
• Turkey was removed from the program after purchasing Russia's S-400 missile defense system, triggering CAATSA sanctions concerns.
• The move would benefit Lockheed Martin, the F-35's prime contractor, and potentially reopen billions in Turkish defense contracts.
• NATO allies, particularly Greece, are expected to raise objections about regional air superiority balance.
• The announcement sets up a fresh confrontation between the White House and Congress over arms export authority and sanctions law.

How Turkey Lost — and May Regain — Its Seat in the F-35 Program

Turkey was a founding partner in the F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, contributing components through Turkish Aerospace Industries and standing to purchase more than 100 aircraft. That relationship collapsed in July 2019 when the Trump administration — under bipartisan congressional pressure — formally removed Ankara from the program after Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan completed delivery of the Russian-made S-400 surface-to-air missile system.

The core concern was integration risk: Pentagon officials warned that operating F-35s in proximity to S-400 radar systems could allow Russia to map the stealth jet's electronic signature, compromising the aircraft's survivability across all NATO theaters. The removal was not merely symbolic — Turkey lost manufacturing contracts, technology transfers, and its place in a program worth hundreds of billions globally.

According to The New York Times, the Trump administration is now moving toward reversing that decision, a shift that would require navigating the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA), the federal law that mandates penalties for significant purchases of Russian defense equipment. Congress passed CAATSA with overwhelming bipartisan support, and any presidential waiver authority will face immediate scrutiny on the Hill.

What the Pentagon and Lockheed Martin Stand to Gain

Lockheed Martin, headquartered in Bethesda, Maryland — a short drive up Wisconsin Avenue from the District — is the F-35's prime contractor. Restoring Turkey's access could reopen a procurement pipeline worth an estimated $20 billion or more, depending on the scale of Ankara's eventual order. The F-35 program already spans 17 nations and has produced more than 1,000 aircraft, according to the F-35 Joint Program Office.

For the Pentagon's acquisition office, the calculus is partly industrial. Turkish firms supplied roughly 900 components to the F-35 supply chain before their removal. Rebuilding that supplier relationship — or confirming it remains dormant — will be among the first logistical questions defense contractors raise once any announcement is formalized.

The defense lobbying corridor along K Street is already buzzing. Sources familiar with Turkish diplomatic outreach say Ankara has accelerated back-channel conversations with both the National Security Council and the Senate Armed Services Committee over the past several months, framing reinstatement as an alignment gesture as Turkey plays a pivotal role in NATO's expanded eastern posture following Russia's war in Ukraine.

Why This Matters in Washington

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Few foreign policy decisions land harder in Washington's policy ecosystem than arms transfers to NATO allies with complicated bilateral histories. Turkey sits at the intersection of nearly every major strategic challenge facing the alliance: it controls the Bosphorus strait under the Montreux Convention, borders both Russia and Iran, houses the Incirlik Air Base used by U.S. forces, and has historically leveraged all of those cards at the negotiating table.

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On Capitol Hill, the announcement will land differently depending on which side of the aisle you occupy. Republican hawks aligned with Trump's transactional foreign policy may support the move as a pragmatic reset. Democratic members of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and House Armed Services Committee — many of whom backed CAATSA's passage — are likely to demand hearings and push back on any attempt to bypass sanctions law through executive action. CAATSA, signed into law in 2017, gives Congress significant oversight leverage here.

At the State Department's Harry S Truman Building, diplomats have long argued that Turkey's reintegration into Western defense frameworks is worth the friction — particularly as Erdoğan has shown a willingness to broker deals between Kyiv and Moscow. The F-35 restoration could be part of a broader diplomatic package rather than a standalone transaction. For more on how Washington shapes global security alliances, see our DC Politics Guide 2026.

Greece, Congress, and the Alliance Fault Lines Ahead

NATO's internal politics will complicate any clean rollout. Greece — Turkey's NATO neighbor and longtime rival — operates F-35s and has vigorously opposed Ankara's reinstatement, arguing that adding advanced stealth aircraft to Turkey's inventory shifts the regional balance of power in the Aegean. Athens is expected to lodge formal objections through NATO channels and through its well-funded lobbying presence in Washington.

Congressional reaction will be the first real test of the announcement's durability. The Senate Armed Services Committee, led by Senator Roger Wicker of Mississippi, and ranking members on both chambers' foreign affairs panels are already positioned to demand answers on three questions: whether CAATSA waivers are legally supportable, what Turkey has conceded regarding the S-400 systems, and how the administration plans to prevent F-35 data from being exposed to Russian intelligence collection.

The Defense News network has tracked years of back-and-forth negotiations on precisely these conditions. Notably, Turkey has never agreed to decommission or return the S-400 — the original red line set by U.S. officials. Whether the Trump administration has secured any verifiable commitment on that front, or is moving forward without one, will define how this decision is received by career officials at the Pentagon's policy shop on the third floor of the E Ring.

Track the power players shaping this decision on our DC Power Players Index.

The CAATSA Problem: Can the White House Override Congress?

CAATSA Section 231 mandates sanctions on entities that conduct significant transactions with Russia's defense sector. The law includes a presidential waiver, but using it requires a formal certification to Congress that the waiver is in the national security interest — a process that triggers oversight, hearings, and potential legislative responses.

The Biden administration, in 2025, declined to issue the waiver despite ongoing diplomatic pressure from Ankara. Trump's team appears willing to move more aggressively. Legal analysts at the Brookings Institution and the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS) — both fixtures of Washington's think-tank corridor near Dupont Circle and Foggy Bottom — have noted that the waiver authority exists but has never been tested in a case this politically charged, according to CSIS's defense policy analysis.

The bottom line on the legal question: the White House can move, but Congress can fight back through appropriations riders, holds on related defense authorizations, and public pressure campaigns. That battle, if it comes, will play out across the Rayburn and Russell buildings over the coming weeks.

For deeper context on how political influence shapes defense decisions in the capital, visit our DC Political Influence Rankings.

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FAQ: Turkey, the F-35, and What Comes Next

Why was Turkey removed from the F-35 program?
Turkey was removed in 2019 after purchasing Russia's S-400 surface-to-air missile defense system. U.S. officials determined that operating F-35s alongside S-400 radar systems posed an unacceptable risk of exposing the stealth aircraft's electronic signature to Russian intelligence.

What is CAATSA and does it apply here?
CAATSA — the Countering America's Adversaries Through Sanctions Act — mandates U.S. sanctions on countries that make significant purchases of Russian defense equipment. Turkey's S-400 acquisition triggered CAATSA concerns, and any F-35 restoration would require the president to issue a formal national security waiver to Congress.

What does Lockheed Martin gain from Turkey's reinstatement?
Lockheed Martin, the F-35's prime contractor based in Bethesda, Maryland, could reopen a procurement deal potentially worth over $20 billion. Turkish industrial firms also supplied approximately 900 components to the F-35 supply chain before their removal in 2019.

How will Greece respond to Turkey getting F-35s?
Greece, which already operates F-35s, is expected to formally object through NATO channels and through diplomatic pressure in Washington. Athens views Turkish acquisition of advanced stealth aircraft as a direct threat to the regional balance of power in the Aegean Sea.

What does Turkey have to give up to get back into the program?
The original U.S. demand was that Turkey decommission or return its S-400 systems. As of the most recent reporting, Ankara has not agreed to those terms — making the conditions of any restoration deal a central question for congressional oversight.

How does this affect NATO?
Turkey controls critical NATO chokepoints including the Bosphorus strait and hosts Incirlik Air Base. Its deeper integration into Western defense platforms could strengthen alliance cohesion — but the S-400 question and Greek objections create internal fault lines that NATO leadership will need to manage carefully.

The bottom line: Trump's expected announcement on Turkey's F-35 reinstatement is more than a bilateral defense deal — it's a test of executive power over sanctions law, a recalibration of NATO's internal politics, and a significant business development for Lockheed Martin. Whether Washington's foreign policy establishment falls in line or pushes back will depend on what, if anything, Ankara actually conceded to earn its way back in.

What to watch next: Monitor the Senate Armed Services Committee for hearing announcements, watch for any formal CAATSA waiver certification transmitted to Congress, and track whether Turkey makes any public statement on the future of its S-400 systems. Those three signals will determine whether this announcement holds — or becomes the latest flashpoint between the White House and Capitol Hill on defense policy authority.

Reporting drawn from: The New York Times. Washington DC Magazine provides original analysis, DC-specific context, and editorial perspective beyond the source material.This article was produced with AI assistance and reviewed by WDCM editorial staff. Washington DC Magazine is committed to accuracy, transparency, and editorial integrity. If you believe any information in this article requires correction, please contact editor@washingtondcmagazine.com.