Overview
- The White House is exploring ways to overcome legal barriers to resume F-35 cooperation with Turkey and has notified Congress of related defense sales that signal a thaw in military ties.
- Republican Rep. Mike Lawler publicly broke with the administration, saying the proposal raises significant national security concerns and noting Congress previously barred transfers after Turkey bought Russia’s S-400 system.
- National-security experts and commentators warn the S-400 could let Russia capture F-35 radar and electronic signatures if both systems operate in the same country, which could expose the jet to future targeting.
- Senior lawmakers and armed-services leaders are preparing legislative and political hurdles to block any F-35 transfer while S-400 risks and questions about Turkey’s regional conduct remain unresolved.
- Turkey was removed from the F-35 program after its 2019 S-400 purchase, so restoring sales would require legal fixes, sustained U.S. confidence-building steps, and likely concessions to reassure allies such as Israel and Greece.