Israel lobbies against Turkey's return to F‑35 program
Turkey still hopes that the Donald Trump administration will restore its status in the F-35 fighter jet purchase program, which was excluded due to acquiring Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft systems. According to Forbes, Israel is quietly working to prevent such a scenario.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly lobbied U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio against the potential sale of fifth-generation fighter jets to Turkey. Such a purchase could threaten Israel's position in the region, where the situation is becoming increasingly tense, especially due to changes in Syria.
Turkey is still fighting to acquire F-35s
Turkey was excluded from the Joint Strike Fighter program after receiving the S-400 Triumph air defense systems from Russia in 2019. Subsequently, U.S. authorities repeatedly urged Turkey to abandon the systems, but Turkey always refused. This resulted in additional problems in the form of American sanctions on its defense industry.
Initially, Ankara sought to acquire 100 F-35 fighter jets. These plans are no longer in effect, but at the end of 2024, Turkish Defense Minister Yasar Guler confirmed that Turkey still hopes to acquire F-35s, albeit in a quantity of 40. Additionally, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested that if the purchasing ban is lifted, Ankara might decide to purchase other American military equipment worth $20 billion.
Turkey continuously modernizes its aviation
The F-35 is a single-seat, fifth-generation fighter jet developed by Lockheed Martin. It measures about 52 feet in length and 14 feet in width. A key feature of the F-35 is its stealth technology (low detectability). The F-35 can carry a variety of weapons, including nuclear weapons.
During Sweden's admission to NATO, Turkish authorities managed to negotiate the purchase of 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits for its existing aircraft of this type; however, they abandoned the latter option, focusing on solutions from the domestic industry. Currently, Turkey has about 250 F-16 fighter jets. It is also intensively developing its own fifth-generation fighter jet project named KAAN and does not exclude acquiring Eurofighter Typhoon jets armed with Meteor missiles.
