US notifies Congress of $700m GE F110 engine sale for Turkey's KAAN fighter, bypassing objections
The State Department formally notified Congress of its intent to sell roughly 80 GE Aerospace F110 turbofans to Turkey for early KAAN production models; the administration proceeded over congressional objections tied to Ankara's retention of the Russian S-400 system, and ahead of the NATO Ankara summit in July
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Summary
The US State Department notified Congress on June 24, 2026, of a planned sale of roughly 80 GE Aerospace F110 turbofan engines to Turkey for early production models of the domestically developed KAAN fifth-generation fighter, valued at over $700 million. The Trump administration proceeded despite objections from lawmakers who cited Turkey's retention of the Russian S-400 air-defense system, which previously caused Turkey's exclusion from the F-35 program. TEI already assembles F110 engines under licence in Turkey for its F-16 fleet. The deal is timed ahead of the NATO Ankara summit scheduled for July 2026.
Why it matters
The sale partially rehabilitates Turkey's US defence procurement relationship after the S-400-driven F-35 expulsion, giving Ankara American engines for its flagship indigenous fighter without requiring it to relinquish the S-400. It trades the S-400 leverage for NATO cohesion ahead of the Ankara summit, but critics say it rewards Ankara for keeping Russian systems while expecting allied interoperability.