Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan says negotiations over U.S. defense sanctions for F-35 stealth fighters are taking longer than Ankara expected. Turkey continues pursuing access to F-35 stealth fighters while advancing its Eurofighter procurement program. Fidan addressed the negotiations during a September 21, 2026, appearance in New York. He said both governments retained the political will to reach an agreement.
“The process is simply taking a little longer than we expected,” he said. Turkey’s presidential communications directorate published his remarks. Fidan emphasized continuing negotiations when answering a question about Turkey’s potential return to the F-35 program. He announced neither a completed agreement nor a deadline for resolving the dispute.
His comments follow President Donald Trump’s July 7 pledge in Ankara to lift sanctions and consider F-35 sales. However, that political commitment did not remove the legal obstacles surrounding aircraft transfers. Washington and Ankara still need an arrangement that addresses those restrictions.
Why Washington excluded Turkey from the F-35 program
Turkey’s Eurofighter program already extends beyond preliminary negotiations. Ankara and London signed an agreement for 20 British-built Typhoon fighters on October 27, 2025. The two governments added a training and support contract on March 25, 2026. Together, the agreements establish a practical route toward introducing the aircraft into Turkish service.
Under the support agreement, Britain will train 10 Turkish pilots and nearly 100 ground technicians. The package also covers spare parts, maintenance support, training equipment and electronic warfare capabilities. These arrangements address the personnel and infrastructure requirements that accompany a new fighter fleet.
The chronology matters when assessing Turkey’s intentions. Ankara committed to the Eurofighter purchase almost a year before Fidan’s latest remarks. That sequence supports viewing Eurofighter procurement as parallel modernization, rather than a sudden retreat from the F-35.
Washington removed Turkey from the F-35 partnership in July 2019 after Ankara acquired Russia’s S-400 air-defense system. The dispute subsequently brought additional restrictions on defense cooperation between the NATO allies. In December 2020, Washington sanctioned Turkey’s defense procurement agency and associated officials over the Russian transaction. It imposed those measures under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act, commonly called CAATSA.
Sanctions relief and authorization to transfer F-35s involve separate legal questions. Congress restricted Defense Department transfers through legislation linking eligibility to Turkey’s possession of the S-400. Consequently, improved diplomatic relations alone cannot settle the aircraft issue. An agreement must address the applicable legal requirements, rather than simply express support for stronger defense ties.
What the F-35 offers beyond the F-16
The Lockheed Martin F-35 Lightning II belongs to the fifth generation of combat aircraft. It performs multiple roles, including missions against enemy aircraft and ground targets. Its principal advantages combine stealth, integrated sensors and information sharing with other forces. The U.S. Air Force describes the F-35A as a fighter that can survive sophisticated threat environments with reduced vulnerability.
Its advantage over the F-16 goes beyond its newer design. Engineers developed the F-35 around low observability, the technical term for reducing detection signatures. Its shape, embedded sensors and internal weapons carriage help limit what enemy systems can detect. Stealth does not make the aircraft invisible, but it complicates an opponent’s efforts to locate and target it.
That distinction matters when pilots approach targets behind sophisticated air defenses. Reduced detectability can improve survival prospects and complicate an adversary’s response. The F-35 combines that protection with sensors that collect information about the surrounding battlespace. Its onboard systems bring information together, helping pilots understand threats and share useful data with other forces.
Modern F-16s nevertheless remain capable combat aircraft. The latest versions feature advanced electronically scanned radar, upgraded computers and improved cockpit systems. Those technologies improve targeting and help pilots interpret their surroundings. However, equipment upgrades do not recreate the F-35’s combination of stealth shaping, internal weapons carriage and integrated sensors. The distinction concerns the overall aircraft design, not simply the sophistication of its radar.
Why F-35 access matters for Turkey
Greece’s acquisition plans illustrate the potential capability gap facing Ankara. Athens signed its acceptance letter for 20 F-35As in July 2024, with an option for another 20. Greece’s Defense Ministry projected initial deliveries in 2028 when announcing the agreement.
Athens has also moved ahead with supporting preparations. On March 16, 2026, Defense Minister Nikos Dendias announced procurement programs for parliamentary review. They included infrastructure for F-35 integration at Andravida Air Base and further F-16 upgrades. Those projects place the stealth aircraft within a wider effort to modernize Greek airpower.
The strategic implication concerns access to capabilities, rather than aircraft numbers alone. Greece has an agreed acquisition path, while Turkey continues negotiating the conditions for access. That contrast could give Athens an additional technological advantage. It also helps explain why Ankara continues pursuing the F-35 alongside its Eurofighter program.
Turkey is developing another potential route through KAAN, its domestic fighter program. Turkish Aerospace intends the aircraft eventually to replace Turkish F-16s. Its stated objectives include low observability, internal weapons bays and sensor fusion. The first prototype flew on February 21, 2024. However, prototype flights and development objectives do not establish the capabilities of a future operational fleet.
These parallel efforts explain why Eurofighter procurement does not erase Turkey’s interest in the F-35. Ankara has secured a European aircraft agreement while pursuing American stealth technology and developing its own fighter. For now, Fidan’s remarks leave the central diplomatic question open: how and when Washington and Ankara will resolve the restrictions.
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