A bipartisan group of U.S. lawmakers is preparing to send a letter to Secretary of State Marco Rubio, urging the Trump administration to oppose any effort to reintegrate Turkey into the F-35 fighter jet program.
The letter, led by Representatives Chris Pappas (D-N.H.), Gus Bilirakis (R-Fla.), Dina Titus (D-Nev.), and Nicole Malliotakis (R-N.Y.), comes amid reports that Ankara is lobbying for the lifting of sanctions imposed under the Countering America’s Adversaries Through Sanctions Act (CAATSA). The move also follows recent remarks by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the NATO summit, where he said “technical level talks” had resumed with the United States.
The lawmakers argue that allowing Turkey to rejoin the F-35 program—without first dismantling its Russian-made S-400 missile defense systems—would endanger U.S. national security and weaken the credibility of U.S. law.
“Lifting sanctions or allowing Turkey back into the F-35 program without first removing its S-400s would jeopardize the integrity of F-35 systems; expose U.S. military secrets to Russian intelligence; undermine our defense industrial base and allied confidence in purchasing future U.S. platforms; and disrupt development of the next-generation fighter jet recently announced by the Administration,” the letter warns.
Turkey was expelled from the F-35 program in 2019 after it acquired the S-400 system from Russia, a move the U.S. and NATO allies deemed incompatible with Western defense infrastructure. Nearly a decade later, lawmakers note, Turkey still retains the Russian systems and has shown no intention of complying with U.S. demands.
“This is not a partisan issue,” the letter states. “Congress has consistently supported CAATSA sanctions and Turkey’s removal from the F-35 program across multiple administrations and with bipartisan support.”
The letter urges the administration to uphold existing sanctions, protect sensitive U.S. defense technology, and send a clear message that violations of American law and alliance norms will not be rewarded.
The initiative is backed by a broad coalition of advocacy groups, including the American Jewish Committee, American Friends of Kurdistan, Armenian National Committee of America, Coordinated Effort of Hellenes, Christians United for Israel Action Fund, FDD Action, the Hellenic American Leadership Council, the Middle East Forum, and the Global Coordinating Committee for the Cyprus Struggle.
It remains unclear when the letter will be officially submitted to the State Department, but signatures are currently being gathered in the House of Representatives.
