The Trump administration has formally notified the US Congress of its intention to sell F-110 jet engines to Turkey, a deal valued at more than $700 million that is essential for Ankara’s indigenous KAAN fifth-generation fighter programme. The notification, delivered without invoking emergency authority, bypassed the customary committee review process, according to Democratic lawmakers on the House Foreign Affairs Committee. The move came hours after President Donald Trump hinted at a possible resolution to the long-stalled dispute over F-35 fighter jets, telling reporters he would “probably do something that’s going to make him very happy” in reference to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Viewed from Washington, the administration presents the engine sale as a gesture to a NATO ally ahead of the alliance’s July summit in Ankara, with Trump citing his personal rapport with Erdoğan and noting that the Turkish leader, like China’s Xi Jinping, refrained from intervening in joint US-Israeli operations against Iran. Congressional Democrats, however, accuse the White House of skirting legislative oversight. Representative Gregory Meeks, the committee’s ranking Democrat, stated that the administration “did not invoke any emergency authority, did not present a written rationale, and for months refused to make a good-faith effort to brief me on implications of the sale.” Other lawmakers, including Representative Chris Pappas, have explicitly warned against any F-35 transfer while Turkey retains the Russian S-400 air defence system. The State Department’s notification to Congress asserts that the export license was assessed against political, military, economic, human rights, and arms control considerations.

The F-110 engines, manufactured by General Electric, are critical to powering the KAAN, a programme launched in 2016 to reduce Turkey’s reliance on foreign combat aircraft. The direct commercial sale would likely list Turkey’s state-run defence procurement agency, the SSB, as the licensed end-user—an entity blacklisted under the 2020 Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA) precisely because of Ankara’s 2017 purchase of the S-400. Analysts in European capitals note that while the engine deal represents a tangible step, it does not resolve the core S-400 impasse that led to Turkey’s expulsion from the F-35 consortium in 2019. Vice President JD Vance confirmed that the Pentagon is reviewing whether Turkey now meets the legal criteria for F-35 acquisition, but stressed that any such transfer would remain subject to congressional approval.

The engine notification arrives amid a flurry of US arms transactions; on the same day, the State Department approved a $250 million sale of fighter aircraft to Australia. In the broader region, Turkish-Italian advances in autonomous drone swarm technology and joint Turkish-Qatari ground exercises are, according to Middle Eastern defence analysts, reinforcing Ankara’s military posture. Congress has 15 days to introduce a joint resolution of disapproval to block the engine sale, though such a measure would require passage in both chambers and could be vetoed by the president. The dossier remains open, with the administration signalling further steps on F-35s while lawmakers prepare potential legislative counter-moves.