The United States is moving forward with a major sale of defense equipment to Turkey.

The Trump administration is seeking to build a new bridge with strong foundations with Turkey—is what the Trump administration is attempting to build, having officially notified Congress of its intention to sell fighter jet engines, F-110s. This was the “gift” the president was referring to when, a few hours ago, he stated that he would make the Turkish president happy.

“Yes, I’ll probably do something that will make him very happy. And Turkey owes him a lot. He’s a good man.”
Donald Trump

The State Department notified Congress of the U.S. president’s intention.

“We are prepared to approve the export after taking into account political, military, economic, and humanitarian factors related to arms control.”
State Department

“The package is worth more than 700 million dollars. In fact, some sources even claim that this agreement could be finalized before the NATO summit to be held in Ankara in July.”
Turkish media

Members of Congress are reacting to the U.S. president’s intentions, raising objections to the retention of the Russian air defense systems acquired by Ankara in 2019.

Congress has 15 days to submit a joint resolution rejecting or approving the agreement, which must, however, pass both chambers with a two-thirds majority. The Speaker of the House may also exercise a veto.

The KAAN

The engines will be used in Turkey’s first domestically produced fighter jet, the KAAN.

Development of the national fighter was accelerated following Turkey’s exclusion from the F-35 program. It is a twin-engine, fifth-generation fighter. Its goal is to gradually replace the Turkish Air Force’s F-16s.

However, one of the main problems facing the Turkish defense industry—due to U.S. restrictions on the export of military technology—is the engines, which it now hopes to procure from the U.S.

Watch the report by Evangelos Agapios: