Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Thursday that he intends to raise the issue of US fighter jet sales during his meeting with President Donald Trump at the White House, signaling Ankara's push to revive stalled defense deals.

"We expect to discuss in detail the issues related to the supply of F-35 and F-16," Erdogan remarked while sitting down with Trump.

Jet Standoff

Turkiye was once a partner in the US-led F-35 Joint Strike Fighter program, contributing more than $1.4 billion before being expelled in 2019 after it acquired the Russian S-400 missile defense system. Washington argued that the S-400 threatened NATO interoperability and posed security risks to the F-35's stealth technology. The jets Turkiye ordered were never delivered, and Ankara has since demanded either delivery or compensation.

In the meantime, Ankara has turned to its aging F-16 fleet as the backbone of its air force. In early 2024, the Biden administration approved a $23 billion package to supply Turkiye with 40 new F-16s and modernization kits for dozens more. But some of those upgrades were later scaled back by Ankara itself. Erdogan now appears intent on pressing Trump to accelerate deliveries and potentially expand the package.

Fighter Diplomacy

Erdogan's push comes as Turkiye positions itself as an indispensable NATO member despite friction with Washington over its defense ties with Moscow and regional policies. Restoring access to the F-35 program, or at least securing additional F-16s, would significantly boost Turkiye's airpower at a time of heightened regional volatility.

The White House visit also underscores Trump's willingness to revisit deals his predecessors froze. According to Reuters, Erdogan may propose broader defense and aerospace cooperation, including large-scale aircraft purchases and industrial offsets that could benefit Turkiye's domestic defense industry.

Aircraft Politics

Still, obstacles remain. US lawmakers, particularly in Congress, remain deeply skeptical about lifting restrictions on F-35 sales to Turkiye, citing both the S-400 issue and Ankara's increasingly assertive foreign policy in Syria, the Eastern Mediterranean, and the Caucasus. Human rights concerns and strained ties with Greece further complicate approval.

For Erdogan, however, securing advanced US aircraft would represent not just a military upgrade but a political victory, restoring an image of Turkiye as a central NATO ally and reinforcing his narrative of Ankara as a rising power that cannot be sidelined.

Read more: Turkey pushes Trump for local production in F-35 and F-16 deals