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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

国防·领导人· active 长远之局·谁的钱 ·6 视角 · ·rbtfl 更新 2026年6月30日

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.