Israel's quiet lobby: Blocking Turkey's F‑35 ambitions
Turkey remains hopeful that the Donald Trump administration will reinstate it in the F-35 fighter jet purchase program, from which it was excluded due to acquiring Russian S-400 Triumph anti-aircraft systems. According to Forbes, Israel is quietly working to prevent such an outcome.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu reportedly lobbied U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio against the potential sale of fifth-generation fighter jets to Turkey. Such a purchase could threaten Israel's position in the region, where, especially due to changes in Syria, the situation is becoming increasingly tense.
Turkey is still fighting to acquire F-35s
Turkey was excluded from the Joint Strike Fighter program after receiving the S-400 Triumph air defence systems from Russia in 2019. Subsequently, U.S. authorities repeatedly urged Turkey to abandon them, but Turkey has consistently refused. This stance resulted in additional challenges, including American sanctions on its defence industry.
Initially, Ankara sought to acquire 100 F-35 fighter jets. These plans are no longer active, but at the end of 2024, Turkish Defence Minister Yasar Guler confirmed that Turkey still hopes to acquire F-35s, though in a reduced quantity of 40. Additionally, Turkish Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan suggested that if the purchasing ban is lifted, Ankara might decide to purchase other American military equipment worth $20 billion.
Turkey continuously modernizes its aviation
The F-35 is a single-seat, fifth-generation fighter jet developed by Lockheed Martin. It measures about 16 metres in length and 4 metres in width. A key feature of the F-35 is its stealth technology (low detectability). The F-35 can carry a variety of weapons, including nuclear weapons.
During Sweden's admission to NATO, Turkish authorities managed to negotiate the purchase of 40 F-16 fighter jets and 79 modernization kits for already existing aircraft of this type (however, they abandoned the latter in favour of domestic solutions). Currently, Turkey has about 250 F-16 fighter jets. It is also intensively developing its own fifth-generation fighter jet project named KAAN and is considering acquiring Eurofighter Typhoon jets armed with Meteor missiles.
