Trump approves $700M NATO arms sale to Erdogan’s Turkey amid S-400 concerns
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The Trump administration is pushing ahead with a controversial $700 million arms sale to NATO ally Turkey despite fears of Ankara’s rapprochement with Russia and terrorist groups in the Middle East.
Rep. Gregory Meeks, DN.Y., ranking member of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, said the administration informed him of the State Department’s decision to bypass Congress and send Turkey 700 million dollars in defense matters, especially military aircraft.
“In this case, the State Department did not even try to justify its decision. It did not ask for any emergency authority, it did not present a written reason, and for months it refused to make an honest effort to explain to me the consequences of the sale of US-Turkey relations, Turkey’s continuation of the Russian S-400 system, and other regional security problems,” said Rep. Meeks News at Digital News.
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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan watches a military exercise in Izmir, Turkey, June 9, 2022. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan celebrated the last day of a major joint military exercise in Izmir province in western Turkey on Thursday. (Photo by Xinhua via Getty Images)
Turkey signed an agreement with Moscow in 2017 to buy the Russian S-400 air defense system and received it in 2019, causing alarm within the NATO alliance. The US and NATO view the move as an intelligence threat that undermines NATO’s cohesion and readiness.
The IS-400 is designed to detect, track, and operate stealth aircraft like the F-35.
“Having Turkey S-400 and F-35 is very dangerous because these two systems working closely or communicating together can provide important intelligence to Moscow by shooting down F-35s flown by the Americans and our allies,” according to the report of the Foundation for Defense of Democracies.
The US authorized Turkey in 2019 to purchase and withdraw Ankara from the F-35 fighter jet program. Congress also passed legislation banning Turkey from the F-35 program while continuing to have the S-400 air defense system.
The State Department dismissed concerns over US arms sales and Turkey’s possession of Russian-made air defense systems.
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MUGLA, TURKIYE – JANUARY 12: A military helicopter participates in the press phase of the Turkish military exercise Sea Wolf (Denizkurdu) in Mugla, Turkiye on January 12, 2024. The exercise, which was directed by the Turkish navy, took place in the eastern Mediterranean, Aegean and Black Sea. (Orhan Cicek/Anadolu via Getty Images)
“The President has been clear; Türkiye is a strong member of NATO. Türkiye has played a major role in the Alliance’s operations and missions,” a State Department spokesperson told Fox News Digital.
The package is a big boon for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as he prepares to host the 2026 NATO summit in Ankara.
“The sale of the US engine is important for Turkey’s most important defense project, the fifth-generation KAAN fighter jet. Turkey is developing its engine, but it will not be ready for several years. Without GE engines made in the US, the KAAN will be difficult to go from a prototype to a serial-produced fighter jet,” Gonul Tol, a senior fellow at the Middle East Institute, told Fox News Digital.
Tol, who is in Ankara for the NATO summit, said the agreement is more important than just a defense sale for President Erdogan, it is the basis of his foreign policy and a major source of legitimacy in domestic politics.
President Donald Trump greets Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan during a summit in support of ending the more than two-year Israel-Hamas war in Gaza after a ceasefire agreement, Monday, Oct. 13, 2025, in Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt. (Evan Vucci AP Photo/Pool)
“If the flight is successful, Ankara believes that it will not only increase defense exports to Turkey but also strengthen NATO’s industrial capacity and strengthen Turkey’s strategic importance within the alliance,” Tol said.
President Erdogan, who has warm relations and receives constant praise from President Trump, has continued to forcefully persuade the United States to return Turkey to the F-35 program, despite pushback from Congress.
On Monday, four of President Trump’s Republican allies – Reps. Jimmy Patronis, R-Fla., Gus Bilirakis, R-Fla., Mike Haridopolos, R-Fla., and Nicole Malliotakis, R-NY., – issued a joint statement regarding the proposed sale. “As Greek American Members of Congress, we are deeply concerned about the reports of the proposed military sale of jet engines to Turkey. Turkey continues to be a disruptive force in the region through its expansive and disputed maritime claims, continued illegal occupation of Cyprus, and demonizing Israel.”
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The statement continued, “The Eastern Mediterranean region has great potential to become a beacon of commercial opportunities, energy cooperation, and regional security, an effort that we have supported through legislation and engagement, but the speech and actions of Turkey increasingly threaten these efforts, important allies of the United States, and regional stability. For example, the maintenance of Hamas in Turkey and the position as the only place of NATO against Russia is deeply opposed by the Administration to refuse. and the leadership of the House to get information further information regarding this reported sale and to express our strong opposition to any possibility of Turkey being included in the F-35 program without full compliance with CAATSA requirements,” their statement said.
A Turkish government spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.
